RESTRICTED  
  
WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1  
 
24 June 2013  
(13-3281)  Page: 1/96  
Working Party on the Accession of 
the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan    
  
  DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON THE  
ACCESSION OF AFGHANISTAN  
Revision  
_______________ 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 4  
DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED ........................................................................................... 4  
INTRODUCTORY ST ATEMENTS ......................................................................................... 4  
II. ECONOMIC POLICIES .............................................................................................. 5  
-  Monetary and Fi scal Policy ...................................................................................... 5  
-  Foreign Exchange and Payments ............................................................................. 8  
-  Investment Regime ................................................................................................. 8  
-  State Ownership and Privatizatio n, State-trading Entities .................................... 13  
-  Pricing Poli cies ...................................................................................................... 15  
-  Competition Policy ................................................................................................ 16  
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING PO LICIES ........................................ 16  
-  Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government ................ 16  
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS ............................................................... 20  
-  Trading Rights ....................................................................................................... 20  
A. IMPORT REGU LATIONS ......................................................................................... 23  
-  Ordinary custom s duties ....................................................................................... 23  
-  Other duties an d charge s ...................................................................................... 24  
-  Tariff rate quotas, ta riff exempt ions ..................................................................... 25  
-  Fees and charges for se rvices rendered ................................................................ 26  
-  Application of internal  taxes to imports ................................................................ 26  
-  Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas and 
licensing sy stems .................................................................................................. 27  
-  Customs valuation ................................................................................................. 31  
-  Rules of or igin ....................................................................................................... 34  
-  Other customs fo rmalities ..................................................................................... 36  
-  Pre-shipment inspection ....................................................................................... 37  
-  Anti-dumping, countervailing du ties, safeguar d regimes ...................................... 37  
B. EXPORT REGU LATIONS ......................................................................................... 38  
-  Customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of 
internal taxes to exports ....................................................................................... 38  
-  Export restrictions ................................................................................................ 39  
-  Export subs idies .................................................................................................... 40  
C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS ............................... 40  
-  Industrial policy, in cluding subs idies .................................................................... 40  
-  Technical barriers to trade, st andards and cert ification ........................................ 42  
-  Sanitary and phytosani tary meas ures ................................................................... 44  
-  Trade-related investment measures ...................................................................... 48  
-  Free zones, special economic areas ....................................................................... 49  
-  Government pr ocurement ..................................................................................... 49  
-  Transit ................................................................................................................... 50  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  -  Agricultural policies .............................................................................................. 52  
V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME ............................................. 52  
-  GENERAL ............................................................................................................... 52  
-  Industrial property protection ............................................................................... 52  
-  Responsible agencies for policy fo rmulation and implementation ......................... 53  
-  Participation in international inte llectual property  agreements ............................ 53  
-  Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals ............................ 53  
-  Fees and taxes ...................................................................................................... 53  
-  SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCEDURES 
FOR THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENA NCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
RIGHTS ................................................................................................................. 54  
-  Copyright and rela ted rights ................................................................................. 54  
-  Trademarks, includin g service marks .................................................................... 55  
-  Geographical indications, including appellations of origin ..................................... 56  
-  Industrial designs ................................................................................................. 56  
-  Patents .................................................................................................................. 56  
-  Plant variety protection ......................................................................................... 57  
-  Layout designs of inte grated circuits .................................................................... 57  
-  Requirements on undisclosed informatio n, including trade secrets and test 
data ....................................................................................................................... 57  
-  ENFORCEMENT ...................................................................................................... 57  
-  Civil judicial procedur es and reme dies .................................................................. 57  
-  Provisional measures ............................................................................................ 57  
-  Administrative procedur es and reme dies .............................................................. 58  
-  Special border measures ....................................................................................... 58  
-  Criminal proc edures  .............................................................................................. 58  
VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TR ADE IN SERVICES ........................................................... 59  
VII. TRANSPARENCY .................................................................................................... 64  
-  Publication of information on trade ....................................................................... 64  
-  Notifications .......................................................................................................... 65  
VIII. TRADE AGREEMENTS ............................................................................................. 65  
CONCLUSI ONS ............................................................................................................... 67  
ANNEX 1 ....................................................................................................................... . 68 
ANNEX 2 ....................................................................................................................... . 69 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan applied for accession to the 
World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2004 (document WT/ACC/AFG/2), following the 
initial application for accession to the WTO, which had been made by the Government of the 
Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan in Ap ril 2003 (document WT/ACC/AFG/1).  At its meeting 
on 13 December 2004, the General Council established a Working Party to examine the application 
of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afgh anistan to accede to the WTO, under Article XII 
of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.  The terms of reference and the membership of 
the Working Party are reproduced in document WT/ACC/AFG/3/Rev.9.   
2. The Working Party met on 31 January 2011 under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Boudewijn 
J. van Eenennaam (Netherlands); on 18 June 2012 and on 7 December 2012 under the 
Chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Roderi ck van Schreven (Netherlands). 
DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED 
3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on 
the Foreign Trade Regime of Afghanistan (document WT/ACC/AFG/4), the questions submitted by 
Members on the foreign trade regime of Afghanis tan together with replies thereto, and other 
information provided by the authorities of Afghanistan (documents WT/ACC/AFG/5, 
WT/ACC/AFG/6 and WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1, WT/ACC/AFG/7, WT/ACC/AFG/8, WT/ACC/AFG/10, 
WT/ACC/AFG/11, WT/ACC/AFG/13, WT/ACC/AFG/15, WT/ACC/AFG/17, WT/ACC/AFG/18, 
WT/ACC/AFG/24 and WT/ACC/AFG/27) including the legislative texts and other documentation 
listed in Annexes 1 and 2.  
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS 
4. The representative of Afghanistan said that the country had emerged after three decades of 
conflict and had endured extensive damage to its physical, institutional, human and social 
infrastructure.  He noted that security was improving throughout the country and that participation 
in the international trading system would lead to more trade, investment, technology transfer, 
employment and income growth throughout the econ omy.  He stated that a core element of his 
Government's strategy for economic growth and development had been to sustain an open 
economy based on liberal trade principles, disciplined fiscal and monetary policies and sound 
non-discriminatory investment environment.  Afghanistan viewed WTO membership as an 
essential element of the effort to strengthen its trade and investment framework and establish the 
environment for greater economic opportunities that would alleviate poverty in the country.  He stated that his Government was committed to turn Afghanistan's handicap of being a 
landlocked county into an asset by becoming an efficient transit location between Central Asia, 
South Asia, and the Indian Ocean.  The representati ve of Afghanistan emphasised the high priority 
that was placed on regional integration and trade facilitation, including initiatives aimed at further 
developing regional transportation and transit infrastructure.  He noted that Afghanistan had 
adopted a significant number of trade and investment related commercial laws and regulations, WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  which were developed on the basis of international best practices and recommendations of 
international organizations.  The Government was also fully committed, with the support of its development partners, to investing in physical infrastructure and human capital.  He noted that 
Afghanistan was in need of trade-related technical assistance and was seeking accession to the 
WTO as a least-developed country. 
5. Members welcomed Afghanistan's application to accede to the WTO and pledged to work 
closely and constructively with Afghanistan towa rds this goal.  Members underscored the need for 
making it possible for Afghanistan to join the Organization quickly, so as to be able to benefit as 
soon as possible from the standards that had been developed in the WTO, including those that 
would be put in place within the framework of trade facilitation. 
6. The Working Party reviewed the economic policies and foreign trade regime of Afghanistan 
and the possible terms of a draft Protocol of Accession to the WTO.  The views expressed by 
Members of the Working Party on the various aspects of Afghanistan's foreign trade regime and on 
the terms and conditions of Afghanistan's accession to the WTO are summarized below in 
paragraphs 7 to [...].   
II. ECONOMIC POLICIES 
- Monetary and Fiscal Policy 
7. The representative of Afghanistan said that important initiatives had been implemented in 
areas of fiscal policy and management, including the centralization of revenue collection and 
management; customs clearance automation; the introduction of an income tax; and the reform of 
customs laws.  The Government's strategy to foster private sector-led economic development and 
increase domestic and foreign investment consisted of efforts to:  (i) build a strong and stable 
enabling environment that would encourage a compet itive private sector; (ii) expand the scope for 
private investment in developing natural resources and infrastructure; and (iii) promote 
investment from domestic sources, the Afghan diaspora and foreign investors. 
8. The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan's GDP rose from US$4.4 billion in 
2002/03 to US$17.4 billion in 2011/12.  Similarly, revenue as percentage of GDP increased from 
3.2 % to approximately 11% tota lling US$1.7 billion in 2010/11.  He  noted that the increase in 
domestic revenues since 2002/03 could be attributed mainly to increases in revenues from 
customs duties and domestic taxes as customs duties comprised 39.2% of the total revenue 
in 2007/08.  Revenue increased by 26.6% and 25% in 2010 and 2011, respectively.  
9. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the Government had elaborated the 
Afghanistan National Development Strategy (AND S), whose objective was the creation of sound 
foundation for sustainable economic growth, achi evement of the Millennium Development Goals 
by 2020 and the development of a number of comprehensive sector strategies.  He said that 
among the key areas that would contribute to increased international trade were strategies aimed WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  at improving regional economic cooperation; private sector development; agriculture and rural 
development; banking and financial sector develo pment; telecommunication; and transportation.   
10. The representative of Afghanistan said that the principal mission of the Da Afghanistan 
Bank (DAB), the Central Bank of Afghanistan, wa s to determine and direct monetary policy aimed 
at maintaining price stability to facilitate economic development within the framework of the 
Government's economic policies.  The representative  of Afghanistan stated that the activities of 
banks and the banking system were governed by the Law on Central Bank of Afghanistan of 2003, 
and the Banking Law of Afghanistan of 2004.  The role of the Da Afghanistan Bank included issuing 
licenses for other banks, legal entities, and individuals to perform banking services such as 
maintenance of accounts for clients, banks, and non-bank financial institutions.  
The representative of Afghanistan acknowledged that asset management (including pension funds, portfolio investment, and trust services) was not yet developed in Afghanistan due to the lack of a 
developed corporate market, technical capacity and organizational structures.  There was, 
however, a regulatory structure to check investment  fund and deposit activity.  He noted that the 
following three laws related to financial leasing were adopted:  the Law on Mortgage of Immovable 
Property of 27 July 2009; the Law on Mortgage of  Movable Property of 27 July 2009; and the Law 
on Transaction Documents (Negotiable Instruments) of 24 January 2009.  
11. The representative of Afghanistan stated th at the Central Bank, which was previously 
heavily involved in commercial banking activities, had been restructured; many unnecessary 
departments were eliminated and a number of essential departments, such as Bank Supervision, Monetary Policy, Market Operation, Information Technology, Financial Intelligence Unit, and Risk 
Management were created.  Under the new arrangements, the Central Bank focused on its core 
functions:  monetary policy, bank supervision, inter-bank clearance and settlement and financial 
market stability. 
12. He stated that in accordance with the Government's policy on price stabilization, the new 
currency of Afghanistan was introduced in Octo ber 2002.  The average exchange rate in 2011 was 
about AF 47.8/US$1.  The restrained monetary policy together with other exogenous factors had 
brought the rate of inflation down from an annual average of 150% in 1999-2001 to 4.8% in 
2006/07.  The inflation rate however fluctuated during the last three years as follows:  3.2% in 
2008/09; 7.7% in 2009/10; and 11.8% in 2010/11.  The increase in inflation was the result of 
widening in trade deficit and prices of fuel s and food products and imported inflation. 
13. The representative of Afghanistan said that th e national budget was intended to be the main 
policy tool to achieve development objectives consistent with the National Priority Programmes of 
the Afghanistan National Development Strategy.  Since 2004, reporting of Afghanistan's National 
Budget included a Core Budget which was under the direct control of the Afghan Government and 
the External Budget, which was funded directly by international donors.  He said that the 
envisaged increase of donor assistance directly through the Core Budget would require 
implementation of major reforms in public finance management such as procurement planning, 
monitoring approach, capacity building programm e and the revision of allotment procedures.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  He noted that fiscal discipline and prudent ex penditure management were the anchors of an 
enabling business environment and macroeconomic stability.  Both were prerequisites for the private sector to flourish.  He added that in tandem with the public financial management reforms, 
the Government was also taking steps to ensure that the private sector reforms advance and keep 
pace with the gains in the public sector reform.  The private sector would not only be the driver of 
growth, jobs and revenues but would also create delivery mechanisms for goods and services in 
both economic and social sectors, productively utilize available human and natural resources, and 
help to integrate Afghanistan with the region and the world. 
14. In reply to a specific question, the representative of Afghanistan said that the proposal for a 
separate budget for the Afghan Customs Department (ACD) and autonomy in terms of budget and 
administration was discussed with donors and favourably reviewed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).  The proposal had been submitted to the Afghanistan Civil Service Commission for 
final approval.   
15. The representative of Afghanistan stated that a 20% flat income tax was levied on legal 
persons and other taxes were applied on goods, legal and natural persons, land, and economic 
activities.  Afghanistan maintained a non-discriminatory tax policy for both domestic and foreign 
investors.  Major tax reform was introduced in 20 07 which sought to comprehensively overhaul the 
tax system, bring it into compliance with international best practices, reduce tax-related 
investment barriers and simplify tax structures and procedures.  He noted that tax concessions 
provided to certain investors, during the period 2002-2005, under the Law on Domestic and Foreign Private Investment in Afghanistan of 2002 (previous law on investment), were no longer in 
effect. The periods for which these tax co ncessions were granted have expired.  
16. The representative of Afghanistan noted th at Afghanistan's tax system was currently 
governed by the Income Tax Law of 2009.  The draft Law on Value added Tax (VAT) which, once it 
came into force, would bring automatic amendments to the Income Tax Law, has been adopted by 
the Council of Ministers and would be sent to th e Parliament by the end of July 2013.  It was 
expected that the VAT would be introduced in the next three to five years.  Draft Amendments to 
the Law on Tax Administration was also being prepared at the Ministry of Finance and was 
expected to be finalized in July 2013.   He further noted that the current taxes applied on imported 
goods were as follows:  (i) tax benefiting Afghan Red Crescent Agency; [(ii) fixed tax of 2% when 
importing with a business licence, and 3% tax when importing without a business licence]; and, (iii) a Business Receipts Tax (BRT) of 2%. For lega l persons, the taxes applied varied from 2% to 
20%. Natural persons were subject to taxes between 2% and 20% (plus US$178) depending on 
their monthly income. Afghanistan did not apply any land tax. He also noted that all incomes, 
resulting from economic activities, were subject to tax unless exempted by law. Details of the 
current taxes applied were provided in Tables 6(a) and (b).  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  - Foreign Exchange and Payments 
17. The representative of Afghanistan stated that as part of the transition from a centrally 
planned to a market economy, the foreign exch ange regime had been extensively reformed.  
In his view, Afghanistan established and maintained  a liberal exchange regime and a highly stable 
exchange rate, establishing conditions necessary for accepting obligations under Article VII of the 
IMF Articles of Agreement.  Through the Da Afgh anistan Bank banking licence, all licensed banks, 
including foreign banks, had an automatic right to exchange currencies.  He said that currently there were 17 licensed banks.  The representative of Afghanistan also stated that there were no 
restrictions or requirements on the retention of foreign exchange or on payments for imports and 
repatriation of profits.  
18. The Regulation of Foreign Exchange Dealers of 7 March 2007 stipulated requirements for 
entities to be licensed to buy and sell foreign exchange in Afghanistan.  Licensed foreign exchange 
dealers were also eligible to participate in DAB's foreign exchange auction.  However, foreign 
exchange dealers' activities were also subject to prudential supervision by the Central Bank. 
19. Other regulations governing foreign exchange and payments included the Money Service 
Providers Regulation of 2006, which stipulated requirements for entities to be licensed as money 
service providers in Afghanistan, the Reserve Re quirement for Monetary Purposes Regulation of 
2006 which provided for reserve requirements to be held by the Central Bank for both prudential 
and monetary policy purposes and the Protecti on of the Payment System Regulation which 
recognized that the Central Bank of Afghanistan was responsible for providing an efficient payment 
system.  The latter regulation recognized the Af ghanistan Clearing and Settlement System (ACSS) 
as a payment system for the purpose of the protec tion of finality under Article 77 of the Banking 
Law of Afghanistan and identified the Registry of  Capital Notes as a security settlement system.  
- Investment Regime 
20. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the Private Investment Law of 2005 was the 
legal basis for Afghanistan's investment regime.  He said that Article 16 of the Law provided 
national treatment to foreign investors except in specific sectors as indicated below.  The Law also 
stipulated the terms and conditions for investment applications.  Approval could be denied to 
foreign investors if:  (i) the application for an investment licence was incomplete and the 
information was inaccurate; (ii) the investment was not made through a registered enterprise in 
Afghanistan; and (iii) the investment was intended to be in prohibited sectors such as 
development of nuclear power; establishment of casinos, gambling and similar establishments; 
production of narcotics and any other intoxicants.  The Law on Private Investment provided 
incentives to foreign investors (Article 18) in terms of exemptions from export duties and export taxes.  The representative of Afghanistan noted, however, that these exemptions were no longer 
relevant given that Afghanistan no longer applied export duties and export taxes except on a few 
products (see Section on Customs tariffs, fees an d charges for services rendered, application of 
internal taxes to exports).  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  21. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the High Commission on Investment was the 
Government's focal point and highest authority for policy-making on investment and was the highest administrative authority with respect to the implementation of the Private Investment Law 
of 2005.  It was chaired by the Minister of Comme rce and Industries and its membership included, 
inter alia , Ministers of the relevant ministries and the Governor of the Central Bank.  Its functions 
included (i) development of regulations for approval  by the Cabinet of Ministers, (ii) approval of 
rules and procedures for implementation of the Pr ivate Investment Law, (iii) establishment of the 
initial threshold for investment capital, (iv) monitoring of foreign and direct investment in 
Afghanistan, and (v) proposing changes to investment policy, as necessary.  It had the right to 
amend the list of areas where investments would be  prohibited, restricted or subject to special 
terms.  This right had been used once to eliminate restrictions on non-bank financial services.  He further stated that, in practice, proposed inve stments in restricted sectors could be subject to 
certain conditions to be approved by the High Commission on Investments.  These conditions 
would apply equally on both domestic and foreign investors.  
22. The representative of Afghanistan noted that, under the Private Investment Law, Article 5.3 
authorised the High Commission on Investment, with the agreement of relevant Ministries, to 
provide, on a case by case basis, different terms from generally applied to investments (for 
example, with the approval of the Ministry of Fi nance to provide tax incentives).  He emphasized 
that such authority had never been exercised.  When needed, Articles 5.1 and 5.5 authorised the 
High Commission on Investment to respectively change the list of sectors in which investments could be restricted and amend the list of prohibited  sectors.  In accordance with Article 5.2 and 
when needed, the High Commission on Investment also had the authority to limit the share of 
foreign investment in some industries, specific economic sections and business companies.  
23.  To assist in carrying out its duties, the Commission established the Afghanistan Investment 
Support Agency (AISA) and was responsible for its operations.  AISA was responsible for issuance 
of investment licenses (i.e., deciding which inve stment enterprises were, or were not "approved") 
and investor registration relating to domestic and foreign investment and covering all sectors.  
While technically under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, AISA's head was a chief 
executive officer.  It facilitated obtaining required licenses for investors from other relevant Afghan 
government agencies and acted as a one stop shop for investment licensing which helped to 
reduce the time needed to obtain a licence from months to one working day in the case of small and medium size investment.  For direct investment exceeding US$3 million, the High Commission 
on Investment would need to approve the inve stment application.  The total number of 
investments exceeding US$ 3 million was 128 since 2013, respectively 89 and 39 for domestic and 
foreign investments.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that an approval by the 
High Commission on Investments was not necessary for share purchases of US$3 million or 
greater.  The High Commission on Investment met once a month and considered applications 
submitted during the prior month.  AISA was also responsible for keeping required reports from 
enterprises approved for investment and acted as an investment enquiry point for information on 
the Private Investment Law.  It continued its efforts to improve its licensing procedures and WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  facilities.  In addition to administering the High  Commission's policies, AISA promoted investment 
and attracted investors to Afghanistan through launching wide and comprehensive campaigns and by setting up AISA's regional offices at provinces to assist investors in doing business. 
24. To invest in Afghanistan, there was a need to obtain a corporate registration and the AISA 
licence.  An enterprise engaged in investment was considered registered and approved to do 
business once it has obtained a corporate registration, an AISA licence and a Tax Identification 
number (TIN).  Companies with an AISA licence can only import for their own use and operations 
and not for reselling (e.g. equipment, inputs).  These companies did not need to obtain a business 
licence, unless their main activity was international trade, in which case they had to obtain a 
business licence from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MOCI).  The AISA licence was 
provided to customs authority [and a 2% fixed ta x (applied on customs duty and on the value of 
the imported goods by the company) was collected at the time of clearance of the goods.  If a 
company did not have an AISA licence, customs authority collected a 3% fixed tax and cleared the 
goods.  The Representative of Afghanistan indi cated that the fixed tax on trade was simply a 
prepayment of investors' tax liability (advance ta x payment) and, in his opinion, did not violate 
GATT Article III.]  The representative of Afghanista n also underlined that the process of obtaining 
the AISA licence had been streamlined with a view to attracting investments.  The one-stop-shop 
at AISA now included a representative from the Afghan Central Business Registry (ACBR) and a 
representative from the Tax Revenue Department, Mini stry of Finance.  In the case of small- and 
medium-size investment, it took one day to obtain the AISA licence, corporate registration, and the TIN.  The required documents to be submitted by the applicant were as follows:  (i) application 
form for the AISA licence; (ii) documents necessary to complete corporate registration: application 
for corporate registration, Articles of Associatio n, and Shareholders' Agreement; and, (iii) five 
passport size photos.  Afghan citizens were required to provide their national identity card while 
foreign citizens (as individual investors or representatives of foreign company) had to provide a 
copy of passport.  For foreign legal entities, a copy of certificate of registration of the legal entity 
attested by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Afghan Embassy in the home country of the foreign 
legal entity were required. These requirements were considered to be consistent with best 
practices.   
25. The representative of Afghanistan said that the AISA Licence fee structure was recently 
changed. The current AISA Licence fees for all sectors varied from US$50 to US$1,000 as follows:  US$50 for small size businesses; US$700 for medium size businesses; and, US$1,000 for large 
size businesses.  He also noted that, to encourage investors, fees for agriculture and industrial 
sectors were reduced for medium and large investments to US$350.  The fee schedule was 
provided in Table 1 of Annex 2.  The fee for corp orate registration was US$20 instead of a previous 
ad valorem  fee of 1% of initial registered capital, an d an additional amount of AF 3 per character 
was charged to publish information regarding the newly registered company in the Official Gazette.  
The total publication fee usually ranged from US$10 to US$20.  There was no fee for obtaining the 
TIN. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  26. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the Government's objective was to reduce to 
the extent possible the current cost of doing business.   In this context, specific measures had been 
undertaken such as the Automated System of ASY CUDA, provision of cargo handling equipment, 
infrastructure development and implementation of simplified procedures, introduction of new 
modern institutions and liberal business laws; importation of electricity; construction of hydro 
power stations; development of road and rail infrastructure; fiscal sustainability improvements; 
and establishment of one-stop-shop for business registration at the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industries.  Other measures included the introduction of uniform and stable currency, imposing 
prudential regulation, and enacting effective monetary policy by the Central Bank which led to 
comparatively stable exchange rate and normalization of inflation; enacting and implementing a 
number of commercial laws and regulations which helped increase financial intermediation and stimulate economic growth. 
27. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the Afghanistan Central Business 
Registry (ACBR) established at the Ministry  of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) in 2008 was 
intended as a single window to register all types of businesses.  He further added that all Afghan 
businesses were required by law to be registered with the ACBR.  The role of the ACBR was to 
streamline and consolidate the myriad processes associated with registering a business in 
Afghanistan, whether done by business persons, their agents, or the Afghanistan Investment 
Support Agency (AISA).  The ACBR also assessed opportunities to support publicity with the 
Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and to reach the bulk of the Afghan businesses through the ACCI channels.  
28. In response to a specific query, the represen tative of Afghanistan confirmed that the ACCI 
did not have any direct or indirect regulatory role related to the registration of businesses.   
29. The representative of Afghanistan said that his Government had focused on the 
development and implementation of the Afghanis tan National Development Strategy (ANDS).  
In this context, the following sectors had been id entified as priorities:  Security; Agriculture and 
Rural Development; Infrastructure and Natural Resources; Education; Health and Nutrition; 
Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights; Economic Governance and Private Sector 
Development; and Social Protection.  To ad vance the implementation of the ANDS, the 
Government of Afghanistan would focus on three main cluster areas:  (1) Agriculture and Rural 
Rehabilitation; (2) Human Capacity Development; and (3) Economic Development and Infrastructure, and implement high priority programmes aimed to (i) contribute significantly to the 
creation of large numbers of new jobs; (ii) have broad geographic impacts; and (iii) attract 
additional investment.  A copy of the ANDS was provided for the Working Party's review 
(see document WT/ACC/AFG/18). 
30. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the ANDS Private Sector Development 
Strategy required the Government to significantly promote private investment from both domestic 
and foreign sources, especially in areas of infrastructure, power generation, water supply and 
irrigation.  The Government was seeking medium and large scale investors in commercial WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  agriculture-related businesses, including producers and processors, in order to increase 
employment and market opportunities in rural ar eas and to develop export markets for Afghan 
products.  
31. Asked whether the ANDS provided for specific investment promotion measures (incentives, 
preferences or other benefits) or for trade-related investment measures, the representative of 
Afghanistan said that the ANDS was not a legal document but a broad-based strategy to, inter alia , 
encourage investment and private sector development in Afghanistan and modernize the legal 
framework with the aim of increasing employment  and GDP growth.  The ANDS neither provided 
for any investment incentives, nor tax exemptio ns.  However, it had recommended that the 
Ministry of Finance create by mid-2008 the necessary legal and fiscal incentives that would actively 
encourage individual and corporate support for soci al and economic development.  As of date, the 
Ministry of Finance had not prepared any legislation to this extent.   
32. In response to a specific question as to how Afghanistan was helping producers to produce 
goods which were environmentally and socially sust ainable, the representative of Afghanistan said 
that the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) was finalizing an Industrial Policy setting out 
Sector Action Plans (SAP).  The sectorial plans related to cashmere and agri-business had been 
approved by the Council of Ministers.  These pl ans underlined the need to encourage experienced 
investors - foreign and national - who would provid e best practices in producing goods which were 
environmentally and socially sustainable.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that the 
Directorate of Environment Inspection under the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) was responsible for ensuring compliance with the National Environment Protection Law No. 912 of 
25 January 2011.  He added that the Environment Protection Regulation No. 939 of 10 March 2008 
provided for specific criminal charges, which ranged from US$8 to US$4,000 and imprisonment of 
three to six months for violators. 
33. The representative of Afghanistan added that his Government was helping producers to 
access niche markets overseas, including through adherence to voluntary standards.  He stated 
that the Sector Action Plans identified niche mark ets such as Fair Trade as an important area for 
Afghanistan.  In addition, the World Bank's New Market Development project provided a grant 
facility to support the expansion of 750 Afghan busi nesses.  The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, 
and Livestock (MAIL) had been working toward establishing a framework for building capacity of 
farmers.  The MAIL would be expanding this effort during the next three to five years with the aim of achieving adherence to Global GAP for ke y Afghan exports and instituting appropriate 
certification mechanisms.  The focus in applying GAP standards would be on main agricultural 
products of Afghanistan, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables.   
34. In reply to a question as to whether the High Commission on Investment was authorised to 
make amendments to the Private Investment Law, the representative of Afghanistan stated that 
proposals to amend this law could only be made  by the High Commission on Investment which 
would be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for further consideration and submission to the 
Council of Ministers.  The latter would then subm it draft amendments to Parliament for adoption. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  35. In response to a specific question regarding the compensation for expropriated investments 
of foreign investors, the representative of Afghanistan said that Article 27 of the Law on Private Investment provided that the State was authorised to expropriate an investment or assets of a 
registered enterprise for an overriding public purp ose.  The decision to expropriate would be made 
on a non-discriminatory basis.  He added that a ccording to Article 28 of the same Law, the State 
would provide prompt, adequate and effective comp ensation in conformity with principles of 
international law, equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated investment or assets 
immediately before the expropriation action was ta ken.  Such compensation would include interest 
at the one-year LIBOR rate for the period between the date of the expropriation or nationalization 
and the date of complete payment of the compensati on.  In the case of an investment made in a 
foreign currency, the compensation would be made in the currency in which the investment was made at the prevailing rate of exchange.  Article 29 also covered matters related to the transfer of 
capital and dispute resolution.  
36. The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan did not belong to any labour 
market integration agreements.  There were currently no free zones or free economic zones in 
Afghanistan and no legal framework governing the activities of such zones.  The national laws of 
Afghanistan applied on the whole territory of Afgh anistan.  The Labour Law of Afghanistan applied 
equally on all producers regardless of whether or not they were involved in exporting.  The Labour 
Law of 2007 reflected most provisions of th e eight core ILO Conventions and the ILO's 2008 
Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalis ation.  Afghanistan intended to amend its 2007 
Labour Law to fully reflect all key provisions of all ILO Conventions, which had been ratified by 
Afghanistan as well as the ILO 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation.  
Specifically, Afghanistan intended to ratify ILO Conventions:  No. 29 "On Forced Labour"; No. 81 
"On Labour Law"; No. 87 "On Freedom of Association"; and No. 129 "On Labour Inspection 
(Agriculture)" and was evaluating the need to ratify the two other Conventions:  No. 98 "On 
Collective Bargaining"; and No. 122 "On Employment Policy".  Afghanistan had also established a 
Labour Inspection Directorate at the Ministry of Labour to ensure adherence to the Labour Law of 
2007, including that violators could be prosecuted.  
- State Ownership and Privatizat ion, State-trading Entities 
37. The representative of Afghanistan stated that  the Government began the Privatization and 
Economic Restructuring Program of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2004.  The total number of 
SOEs in 2008 in Afghanistan was 64 and, in 2011, a new SOE - the Afghan Public Protection Force 
- was established, bringing the total of SOEs to 65.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed 
that all SOEs were 100% State-owned. Additionally, there were 23 State-owned 
corporations (SOCs), where the Government shared ownership with the private sector or had been 
the sole owner operating under corporate law and governance procedures.  Eleven of those 
23 SOCs were not operating.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that Da Afghanistan Brishna 
Sherkat (DABS) was the only SOC that met the definition of state trading enterprises in the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XV II of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
1994 for the purposes of notification. As a result of  privatization, corporatization and liquidation in WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 14 - 
 
  recent years, there were currently 39 SOEs (of which six had been leased to the private sector and 
six were not subject to privatization) and 23 SOCs.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that his Government was seeking to promote the private sector as the engine of economic growth and 
the key to Afghanistan's long term developmen t and poverty reduction.  Furthermore, the 
Government was committed to expanding the private sector through the efficient and rapid 
transfer of state-owned assets into private ownershi p.  Such transfers would take place in an open, 
fair, and transparent manner with the objectives  of maximizing sales revenues, employment 
generation, increased investments and technological development. 
38. The representative of Afghanistan said that the Government would continue the programme 
of privatization and corporatization of State- owned enterprises.  In accordance with the 
privatization policy, enterprises were classified into the following two categories:  (i) enterprises recommended to remain in state ownership and (i i) enterprises recommended for divestiture.  
There were originally eight SOEs under the first category.  This was reduced to five as a result of 
the conversion of the Water Supply and Canalizati on Enterprise and the Energy Enterprise Da 
Afghanistan Brishna Sherkat (DBS) to State-owned corporations and the liquidation of the 
Engineering Research Enterprise.  The five remaining SOEs in the first category were:  Millie Bus 
Enterprise; Improved Seed Enterprise; Prison En terprise; Securities Printing Enterprise; and 
Micrurayan Maintenance (residential apartments).  The number of SOEs not subject to privatization 
was increased to six in 2011 as a result of a form ation of the Afghan Public Protection Force.  
There were 59 SOEs in the second category, and th ey would be transferred to the private sector 
based on different methods; such as privatization, corporatization, liquidation, sale of assets, sale 
of shares and others.  In response to a question regarding the privatization project of 
59 State-owned enterprises subject to privatization,  the representative of Afghanistan said that 
five of them had been sold to the private sector; another six had been leased long-term to foreign 
and domestic investors; and 19 were liquidated.  The lists of SOEs and SOCs are provided in 
Tables 2(a) and 2(b), respectively.  
39. [The representative of Afghanistan confir med that his Government would ensure the 
transparency of its ongoing privatization programme.  He stated that his Government would 
provide reports to WTO Members on developments in its privatisation programme, periodically and 
upon request, as long as the programme would be in existence, and along the lines of the 
information already provided to the Working Party during the accession process.  The Working Party took note of this commitment.] 
40. In response to a specific question regarding State-owned enterprises, the representative of 
Afghanistan said that not all State-owned enterprises were engaged in import/export operations, 
and even if they were, it did not necessarily mean that they had exclusive rights or privileges in 
trade operations.  He further noted that all SOEs imported goods for their own operations and not 
for commercial sale except for the Fuel and Liquid Gas Enterprise and Da Afghanistan Brishna 
Sherkat (DBS).  Only the DBS had de facto  monopoly in the import of electric power.  
The representative of Afghanistan noted that th e Fuel and Liquid Gas Enterprise was under the WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  corporatization process.  The assets of the Agriculture Development Bank had been transferred to 
the Ministry of Finance.  All the assets of th e Mortgage and Construction Bank and Industrial 
Development Bank had been sold.   
41. Asked to describe the restructuring and corporatization of the Fuel and Liquid Gas Enterprise 
(FLGE), the representative of Afghanistan said that the FLGE was operating within the framework 
of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) .  The MoCI had developed a plan to corporatize 
the FLGE according to which the FLGE would be given new legal status to operate as a corporation.  
He added that the FLGE no longer enjoyed monopoly power in the import of petroleum and liquid 
gas as the private sector was importing the majority of such products. 
42. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed th at from the date of accession, State-trading 
enterprises (including State-owned and State-contro lled enterprises, enterprises with special or 
exclusive privileges, and unitary enterprises) in Afghanistan would make any purchases or sales, 
which were not for the Government's own use or consumption, solely in accordance with 
commercial considerations, including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and 
other conditions of purchase or sale.  He further confirmed that these State trading enterprises 
would afford the enterprises of other Members adequate opportunity, in accordance with 
customary business practice, to compete for participation in purchases from or sales to 
Afghanistan's State enterprises.  The Workin g Party took note of these commitments.] 
- Pricing Policies 
43. The representative of Afghanistan stated that, currently, the following goods were subject to 
price control:  electricity, water, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment (see details in Table 3).  
He added that Da Afghanistan Brishana Sherkat (a Government-owned entity) set the price for 
electricity subject to the approval by the following fo ur ministers:  Minister of Finance, Minister of 
Economy, Minister of Rural Development, and Mini ster of Energy and Water.  Electricity prices 
varied from one region to another.  The prices were established taking into account the cost of 
generation and/or import and distribution costs and adding a mark-up of 15%. 
44. Upon a proposal by the Ministry of Urban Development, the prices for water were approved 
by the Economic Committee under the Council of Ministers.  The tariff levels for water were 
established based on cost of production and distribution. 
45. Based on the Law on Medicine of 17 January 2007 and the Regulation on Production and 
Import of Medicines and Medical Equipment, dated February 2007, the Ministry of Public Health 
(MoPH) set the price for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.  The methodology for price 
setting was to permit reasonable profit and allow recovery of the operational costs of companies.  
The only commercial services subject to price regulation were certain medical services, as per 
details provided in Table 3.  There was no specific methodology for establishing the rates for 
medical services other than ensuring that ch arges were reasonable and affordable to the 
population.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  46. The representative of Afghanistan stated that  from time to time and for the purpose of 
consumer protection, MOCI would implement price control on gasoline, fuel, diesel, and liquefied 
gas.  A Decision by the Minister of Commerce and Industries would be issued in this regard. 
47. In response to a specific question, the representative of Afghanistan stated that there were 
currently no mechanisms to appeal price regulation.  
48. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that from the date of accession, pricing policy 
in Afghanistan would be applied in compliance with  the provisions of Article III:4 and XI:1 of the 
GATT 1994 and Article 4 of the Agreement on Agricultur e.  He further stated that in the application 
of price controls now or in the future, Afghanistan would apply such measures in a WTO-consistent 
fashion, and take account of the interests of  exporting WTO Members, as provided for in 
Article III:9 of the GATT 1994.  Upon accession, Af ghanistan would publish the list of goods and 
services subject to State price control and any changes to this list in its Official Gazette and would 
continue to do so after accession when the list or the prices controlled changed.  The Working 
Party took note of these commitments.]  
- Competition Policy 
49. The representative of Afghanistan said that the Law on Protection of Competition of 
30 June 2010 regulated competition policy.  This Law balanced Afghanistan's need for foreign 
direct investment and the need to ensure fair and effective competition consistent with modern 
competition policy.  He further noted that a new draft competition law had been prepared. As soon 
as it was adopted by the parliament, signed by th e President, and published in the official gazette, 
all of its provisions would come into force. 
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES 
- Powers of Executive, Legislative an d Judicial Branches of Government 
50. The representative of Afghanistan said that  on 3 January 2004, the new Constitution of 
Afghanistan was approved.  According to Article 5 of the Constitution, the National Assembly, 
elected once every five years, consisted of two hous es:  (i) the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People); 
and (ii) the Meshrano Jirga (House of the Elders).   The National Assembly had the power to make 
decisions on issues fundamental to the country an d to supervise and overse e the activities of the 
executive and judicial branches.  The powers of the National Assembly included:  (i) the 
enactment, amendment, ratification and modification  of laws and/or legislative decrees; (ii) the 
approval of plans for economic, social, cu ltural and technological development; and 
(iii) establishment and abolishment of taxes, ap proval of the Government's budget, granting 
permission for loans and ratification or abrogation of international treaties and agreements.  
The National Assembly also had the authority to set up commissions and/or special commissions to 
examine issues and to inquire about Government actions. 
51. The Executive branch consisted of the President,  Ministers and Governors of the provinces.  
The President, who was both the Head of State and the Head of Government, exercised his WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  authority with respect to all branches of the Government in accordance with the provisions of the 
Constitution.  The powers of the President incl uded issuing decrees and promulgating laws and 
supervising the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution.  Ministers were appointed by 
the President and confirmed by the Lower House of the National Assembly.  Governors of the 
Provinces were proposed by the Independent Direct orate of Local Governance and approved by the 
President. 
52. In response to a question to explain the stat us of President Orders and Legislative Decrees 
vis-à-vis  a law, the representative of Afghanistan stated  that President Orders laid down a decision 
by the President (e.g. on administrative matters, appointment, instructions to customs regarding 
tariff and non-tariff measures, establishment of a new institution) and that they were not intended 
to implement Laws enacted by the Parliament.  He  stated that, although President Orders cannot 
contradict Laws already enacted, they could be used to instruct institutions to implement existing 
Laws.  Legislative Decrees were issued during re cess of the National Assembly, after approval by 
the Council of Ministers.  After endorsement by the President, the Legislative Decree acquired the 
force of law.  A Legislative Decree was a temporary law and such Decrees had to be presented to 
the National Assembly within 30 days of convening its first session.  If rejected by the National 
Assembly, the Legislative Decree would become invalid.  
53. According to the Constitution, the judicial branch was an independent branch of the 
Government.  The judicial branch consisted of the Supreme Court, Appeal Courts (Provincial 
Courts), and Primary Courts (District Courts).  Th e Supreme Court was the highest judicial organ.  
In response to a specific question as to how administrative decisions in matters covered by the 
WTO Agreement could be appealed administratively in the first instance, the representative of 
Afghanistan said that different alternatives were available for traders to appeal customs decisions 
and that a web-based access to the administrative appeal process was being developed.  With 
respect to Customs matters, draft amendments to the Customs Law provided persons who had 
received a decision concerning a particular customs transaction with the right to appeal to the 
General Directorate of Customs.  Such appeals needed to be made within ten days of notification 
of the decision.  Any duties assessed were required to be paid and would be held in trust pending 
final decision on the appeal.  In the event that the General Directorate of Customs did not issue a 
decision within this time period, the request would be presumed to have been decided in favour of 
the appellant.  If the decision of the General Dire ctorate was not satisfactory to the appellant, the 
appellant had the right to appeal to the Customs Arbitration Administration (which for example 
handled appeals in the context of TRIPS Section 4.  Special Requirements related to Border 
Measures) or directly to the commercial court.  Decisions by the Customs Arbitration 
Administration could be appealed to the relevant commercial court by the appellant, if the amount 
at issue was AF 50,000 or less, or by either party, if the amount at issue exceeded AF 50,000.  
The draft amendments would require the Gene ral Directorate and the Customs Arbitration 
Administration to:  issue decisions on appeal in writing, provide reasons, and inform the appellant 
of his further rights of appeal.   WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  54. The representative of Afghanistan noted that the Regulation on Customs Arbitration of 
20 March 2006 established the Customs Arbitration Administration as an impartial body set up within the framework of the Ministry of Finance,  to which the General Directorate of Customs was 
subordinate.  He further noted that the Customs Arbitration Administration was not yet functional 
and that Afghanistan intended to operationalize it during the first half of 2014.  In response to a 
specific question on the availability of administrative appeal in Afghanistan in WTO matters, 
specifically, with regard to trade in services issu es, the representative of Afghanistan stated that 
service providers had the right to appeal to courts in accordance with the requirements under 
Article VI 2(a) of the GATS.  In addition, key services line Ministries (Ministry of Communications 
and Information Technology, Ministry of Transpor t, Da Afghanistan Bank, and the Ministry of 
Finance) had services-related administrative appeal procedures in place for businesses seeking to appeal prior to court. 
55. The representative of Afghanistan stated that there were no administrative tribunals in 
Afghanistan, other than the Customs Arbitratio n Administration.  A certain number of cases 
concerning the civil responsibility of the State were dealt with by the courts.  He said that 
Afghanistan was including provisions in the draft WTO related laws to allow access to 
administrative appeal related to WTO matters and where relevant, to commercial arbitration.  
Draft provisions for administrative appeal processes could be found in the following legislation:  
(i) the Customs Law of 2005 and its draft amendmen ts, and the Regulation on Customs Arbitration 
of 20 March 2006; (ii) the Draft Law on Foreign Trade in Goods (which provided for administrative appeal for all procedures related to trade in goods in this law, including import licensing 
procedures); (iii) the Draft Law on Food, the Draft Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine, and 
the Draft Law on Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health; and (iv) the Draft Law on Standards 
and Technical Regulations (which provided for the right to administrative appeal concerning results 
of conformity assessment procedures).   
56. With regard to how administrative decisions in matters covered by the WTO Agreement 
could be appealed to the courts after administrative options had been exhausted, the 
representative of Afghanistan said that the case would be first submitted to the Primary 
Commercial Court in the respective district and a panel of three judges would be assigned to each 
case.  After standard documentation, presentation  of arguments, witnesses, and the review of 
evidence, the judges would deliberate and announce their decision.  If either of the parties was not satisfied with the decision, they could appeal to  the Appeals Court.  A similar process would be 
undertaken and a decision would be announced.  Either party could appeal the decision to the 
Commercial Tribunal of the Supreme Court.  This court with three judges would only review the 
case to ensure that the rule of law was applied.  They would receive witnesses or review evidence.  
The decision of the Commercial Tribunal of the Supreme Court would be final.  Asked about the 
status and the role of the Commercial Courts in th e Afghan judicial system, the representative of 
Afghanistan said that they were the Primary Courts, located at the District level.  Appeals to the 
decision of Commercial Courts would be made to the Provincial Courts, and further appeals would WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  be made to the Supreme Court.  Commercial Courts handled all disputes arising from commercial 
transactions, which included customs matters and trade policy issues. 
57. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that its laws and regulations provided the 
necessary institutional base for the prompt administrative and judicial review of the Government's 
actions.  He further confirmed that from the date of accession, Afghanistan's laws would provide 
for the right to appeal administrative rulings on ma tters subject to WTO provisions to the courts or 
other independent tribunal in conformity with WTO obligations, including those set out in Article X 
of the GATT 1994, Article 23 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, 
Article 11 of the Agreement on Implementation of  Article VII of the GATT 1994, Article 62 of 
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellec tual Property Rights and Article VI of GATS.  
The tribunals or procedures responsible for such reviews would be impartial and independent of the agency entrusted with administrative enforcement and shall not have any substantial interest 
in the outcome of the matter.  The review proc edure would include the opportunity for appeal, 
without penalty, by individuals or enterprises affected by any administrative action subject to 
review.  Notice of the decision on appeal would be given to the appellant and the reasons for such 
a decision would be provided in writing.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
58. The Constitution of Afghanistan provided for th e National Assembly to ratify international 
treaties and agreements.  International treaties that necessitate the amendment of domestic laws 
or the enactment of new domestic laws required ratification.  In the case of the Marrakesh 
Agreement Establishing the WTO and the Protocol of Accession to the WTO, it would be necessary to submit any Agreement to the National Assembly for ratification.  After ratification, the National 
Assembly would submit it to the President's office through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.  
If no veto, the President would issue a decree bringi ng the agreement into force.  The Ministry of 
Justice would notify the line ministries and publish the ratification in the Official Gazette.  National 
laws reflecting WTO provisions would come into force once adopted and signed by the President 
(i.e. they did not have to wait for coming into force until the WTO Accession Package is ratified).  
As regards the ratification of the WTO Accession Package, the terms of the accession would come 
into force once the Accession Package was ratified  by the National Assembly.  The representative 
of Afghanistan noted that ratification of the A ccession Package would establish enforceable legal 
obligations without specific conforming legislation.  The ratification of the WTO Package will create 
a Treaty obligation, which superseded domestic law. 
59. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that sub-central entities had no autonomous 
authority over issues of subsidies, taxation, trade policy or any other measures covered by 
WTO provisions.  He confirmed that the provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Afghanistan's 
Protocol of Accession, would be applied uniformly throughout its customs territory and other 
territories under its control, including in regions engaging in border trade or frontier traffic, special 
economic zones, and other areas where special regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations are 
established.  He added that when apprised of a situation where WTO provisions were not being 
applied or were applied in a non-uniform manner, central authorities would act to enforce WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  WTO provisions without requiring affected parties to petition through the courts.  The Working 
Party took note of these commitments.] 
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
- Trading Rights 
60. The representative of Afghanistan said that in order to engage in any business activity, 
including trading in Afghanistan, there was a need for corporate registration as a legal person or a 
sole proprietor.  He explained that corporate regist ration, which entailed a creation of a legal entity 
to operate a business in Afghanistan, was not the same as a business licence.  Corporate 
registration as a legal person or registration as a sole proprietor was conducted in accordance with 
the Corporations and Limited Liability Companies Law of 30 January 2007.  However, the applicant 
had to apply for corporate registration at the Business Licensing Department (BLD) at the Ministry 
of Commerce and Industries (MoCI), which referred the application to the Afghan Central Business 
registry at MOCI, by filling in the required forms and submitting:  (i) application for corporate 
registration; (ii) Articles of Association, and Shareholders' Agreement; and (iii) two passport size photos.  Afghan citizens were required to provid e their national identity card.  Foreign citizens 
(as individual investors or representatives of a foreign company) had to provide a copy of their 
passport.  For foreign legal entities, a copy of certif icate of registration of the legal entity attested 
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Afghan Embassy in the home country of the foreign legal 
entity were also required.  These requirements remained important for Afghanistan for security 
reasons and prevention of terrorist acts.  The proc ess for corporate registration took less than one 
day. 
61. The representative of Afghanistan said that the fee for corporate registration was 
one per cent of capital.  Most applicants regist ered on the basis of minimum required capital of 
approximately US$1,000, i.e. the fee was appr oximately US$10.  The percentage fee was 
eliminated in 2012 and replaced with a fee of US$20, which was below the cost of services rendered.  Adjustment would be made to reflect the approximate cost of services rendered.  
The fee was the same for domestic and foreign applicants and was paid only once during the time 
of registration.   
62. The representative of Afghanistan stated that information regarding new registered legal 
persons (e.g. name of business, general information, initial capital, contact) would need to be 
published in the Official Gazette.  The fee was approximately AF 3 per character.  Re-registration 
of any changes would need to be again published in the Official Gazette.  
63. In order to engage in trade for commercial activities (i.e. importing for distribution and retail 
sale as opposed to importing equipment, input or  raw materials for the purpose of production and 
operations of businesses), the legal person and sole proprietor needed to have a business licence. 
The representative of Afghanistan noted that a bu siness licence was not an activity licence but a 
licence that granted the right to a natural person or a legal entity to engage in trade activities 
(covering import and/or export).  Information on business licensing procedures for export and WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 21 - 
 
  import operations was provided in Annex 3 of document WT/ACC/AFG/4.  He further said that 
business licensing was regulated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries Instruction on Business Licensing of 10 April 2004.  
64.   All applicants for a business licence had to complete the application form provided by the 
Directorate of Business Licensing of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.  The documentation 
required to apply for a licence was as follows:  (i) an application letter from the investor; 
(ii) National ID card of the investor; (iii) fee calculation form (forma e sanjesh) from the Business 
Licensing Directorate; (iv) Corporate Status (Artic les of Association); (v) Corporate Identity form; 
and (vi) Letter to the Afghanistan Central Busine ss Registry (ACBR) from the Business Licensing 
Directorate of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to proceed with the registration.  Domestic 
and foreign investors followed the same process.  He further stated that Afghan applicants for a 
business licence would need to provide an ID card ( Tazkera ) and a financial statement by the 
business applicant's bank. All foreign applicants would have to provide the following additional 
information:  (i) passport and a valid business visa; and (ii) notarized and/or certified financial 
statement by the business applicant's bank and/or  accredited account.  The representative of 
Afghanistan confirmed that any domestic or foreign firm or individual could obtain business 
licenses for importation or exportation without the requirement of investment.  
65.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that it took maximum one day to obtain a 
business licence.  Five signatures were required, the final signature being that of the Director of 
the Business Licensing Directorate.  The business licence was renewed automatically and annually and the renewal process was similar to the initial process of obtaining the licence.  For the 
renewal, which took less than one day, a confirmation from Mostufiat Departments that the 
company had paid its taxes was necessary.  
66. The representative of Afghanistan said that the schedule of fees for obtaining a business 
licence was the following:  (i) for Afghan legal persons approximately US$57; (ii) for sole 
proprietor approximately US$34; (iii) for foreign natural and legal persons approximately 
US$1,400 plus approximately US$29; and (iv) for agency (representative office) US$1,900 plus 
approximately US$19.  The fee schedule for the annual renewal of the business licence was the 
following:  (i) for Afghan legal persons approximately US$43; (ii) for sole proprietor approximately 
US$33; (iii) for foreign natural and legal persons US$400 plus approximately US$29; and (iv) for 
agency (representative office) US$900 plus approximately US$19.   
67. The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that all persons including legal and natural 
(domestic/foreign) persons could import without a business licence, when importing for reselling, 
and without any AISA licence for own use (i.e. importation for further incorporation in 
manufacturing).  [However, those who did not have  a business licence were charged 3% fixed tax 
(charged on customs duty and the value of impo rted goods) on imported goods instead of 2% 
fixed tax for those who had a business licence.  The fixed tax collected could be used against the 
tax liability of a trader, i.e. fixed tax payments on imports could be claimed as credit in the 
calculation of a trader's annual income tax assessment.  He noted that this was a minor WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  administrative process, and he did not view the application of fixed tax on imports as violating 
Article III of the GATT 1994.]  He also noted that currently, there were no limitations established with respect to forms of commercial presence in Afghanistan either generally or for specific 
business.  In reply to a specific question, the re presentative of Afghanistan confirmed that the act 
of importation and the act of distribution are distinct in the context of the business licence and that 
distributors or retailors did not need a business licence from MoCI.  
68. Some Members raised concerns regarding the relationship between corporate registration 
and business licensing and the higher business licence fees for foreign applicants which, in their 
view, constituted a form of business taxation and was inconsistent with WTO obligations in 
Articles II, III, VIII and XI of the GATT 1994.  The representative of Afghanistan replied that 
Afghanistan was further reforming the current system to separate and make distinct commercial registration from business licensing, to restructure the business licence, and ensure conformity 
with the GATT 1994 upon accession to the WTO to reflect the approximate cost of services 
rendered.  A legislation to reflect the new system was currently being prepared.  Under the new 
system, Corporate registration would be delinked from business licensing; the Business licence 
would be renamed to Trade Licence; the Trade Licence would not be a pre-requisite for corporate 
registration and the applicant would apply directly at ACBR for corporate registration; Trade 
licence could be obtained after corporate registrati on was completed; only companies interested in 
engaging in trade activities (import and export) would need to have trade licence; the trade 
licence would be issued on an automatic basis by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries and 
would not require any pre-approval of other ministries; the period for obtaining the trade licence 
would be maximum one day; a single fixed fee would be charged for issuing/renewing trade 
licence; no minimum capital or investment would be required to issue trade licence; the trade 
licence would be renewed automatically and annually; the trade licence could be used by 
companies for importing goods to be commercially traded or for business own-use (e.g. 
equipment, raw materials, components); the trade licence would be presented to customs in order 
to clear goods; the trade licence would be delinked from payment of any taxes on imports.  
Finally, like the business licence, the trade licence would only be needed for import/export and not 
for domestic distribution. 
69. Members raised concerns that the fees for an activity licence to import medicines and 
medical equipment cost Afghan nationals US$800 while foreigners were charged US$5,000, and urged Afghanistan to reform its fee structure.  The representative of Afghanistan described the 
specific licence requirements and fees by stating that medicines (including raw materials for 
producing medicines) could only be imported by companies that had at least one pharmacist on 
their staff.  A person wishing to import medicines and medical equipment needed to request a 
licence for engaging in such activities.  This licence was valid for one year and cost approximately 
US$800.  He further added that foreign companies wishing to engage in importing medicines and 
medical equipment were required to partner with a local Afghan registered activity licence holder 
company.  The licence cost was the same in this case.  The licence could be renewed annually at 
no cost.  If the licence was not utilised during the year, the applicant needed to re-apply for a new WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  licence.  In addition to this activity licence, the importer would need to have a permit from the 
Ministry of Public Health (MPH) to import medici nes and medical equipment.  He further said that 
the reason for a different licence fee was to encourage more Afghan nationals to be engaged in 
international trade activities, especially in the trade of medicines and medical equipment.  
He added that Afghanistan would revise the fees structure to bring it into compliance with 
Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  The Ministry of Pub lic Health (MPH) will revise the current fees 
structure to ensure that it reflects the cost of services rendered and is applied equally on foreign 
and domestic importers, by 2014.  Once the revision was finalized a Draft amendments to the 
Regulation on Production and Import of Medicines of 19 February 2007 would be provided.  
70. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that from the date of accession, Afghanistan 
would grant any natural or legal person, regardless of physical presence or investment in Afghanistan, the right to be the importer of reco rd of any product allowed to be imported into 
Afghanistan, at any level of distribution, and that its laws and regulations relating to the right to 
import or export goods and all fees, charges or taxes levied on such rights would conform fully 
with its WTO obligations, including Articles VIII:1(a), XI:1, and III:2 and 4 of the GATT 1994, 
Article III of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and Article 63 of the Agreement on 
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights .  He also confirmed that the right to import 
and to export would be granted in a non-discriminatory and non-discretionary manner from the 
date of accession, and requirements for commercial registration or application for activity licenses 
or other trading rights for importation and exportation would be for customs and fiscal purposes only, would not require investment in Afghanistan nor confer the right to distribute there, and 
would not constitute a barrier to trade.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
A. IMPORT REGULATIONS 
- Ordinary customs duties 
71. The representative of Afghanistan said that the Customs Law of 2005 was currently in force.  
He noted that various amendments would be made to ensure consistency with the WTO rules.  
He further stated that Afghanistan had prepar ed draft amendments in 2010, which had been 
submitted to the Ministry of Justice.  
72. The Afghanistan National Tariff Schedule (ANTS) was based on the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System (HS 2012) and tariffs were applied at the eight digit.  The tariff 
structure maintained 14 tariff rates:  0, 1, 2.5, 3.5, 5, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25, 35, 40 and 50%.  
The tariff structure allowed for the use of ad valorem  tariffs, specific duties and combination of 
ad valorem  and specific tariff rates.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that at present only 
ad valorem  tariff rates were applied.  In reply to a specific question, he said that the HS2012 tariff 
nomenclature was not adopted through amending the Customs Law but by revising and adopting 
Afghanistan's Tariff Schedule, which was a separate document from the Customs Law.  
Afghanistan made sure that its tariff nomenclature was consistent with the World Customs 
Organization Harmonized system.  As such, Afghanistan's tariff nomenclature was revised every 
time a new HS version was produced by the World Customs Organization.  There were no legal WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  requirements to change tariff rates periodically.  Based on proposals by the private sector or 
relevant ministries, the Director General of Customs made recommendations to the Minister of Finance to revise tariff rates in the Tariff sched ule.  Recommendations for changes in tariff rates 
were then approved by the Minister of Finance.  Subsequently the revised Tariff Schedule with new 
rates was published. 
73. The representative of Afghanistan said that the currently applied tariff rate structure was 
made up of relatively low tariff rates and reflected Afghanistan's intention to establish an open, 
market-based economy (see details for 2011 in Tables 4(a) and 4(b)).  As the process of economic 
development following decades of conflict and economic isolation was still in early stages, 
Afghanistan could require undertaking some tariff adjustment.  In such cases, the Government 
would take into consideration the economy-wide impacts, including in particular the impact on consumers.  These factors would be reflected in Afghanistan's specific market access 
commitments. 
- Other duties and charges 
74. The representative of Afghanistan said that Af ghanistan charged a Tax Benefiting the Afghan 
Red Crescent Agency of 2% of the value of cust oms duties on all imported commercial goods.  
He confirmed that this tax was the only tax classified as "Other Duties and Charges" (ODC) and 
was the only such duties and charges that will be  bound in Afghanistan's Schedule of Concessions 
and Commitments on Goods. 
75. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that his Government would not list duties and 
charges in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods under Article II:1(b) of the 
GATT 1994 except for the Red Crescent tax, charges commensurate with the Municipalities Tax, 
and XXXX, thereby binding such char ges at a rate incorporating thes e charges as a single ODC.  
He also confirmed that any other measures applie d to imported goods of the kind described in 
paragraph 66 would be eliminated no later than th e date of Afghanistan's accession and that after 
accession measures of this kind would not be reapplied or introduced as separate charges on 
imports or exports.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
[The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that his Government would not list duties and 
charges in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods under Article II:1(b) of the 
GATT 1994 except for the Red Crescent tax[, char ges commensurate with the Municipalities Tax, 
and XXXX, thereby binding such charges at a rate incorporating these charges as a single ODC].  
He also confirmed that any other measures applie d to imported goods of the kind described in 
paragraph 66 would be eliminated no later than th e date of Afghanistan's accession and that after 
accession measures of this kind would not be reapplied or introduced as separate charges on 
imports or exports.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  - Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions 
76. The representative of Afghanistan said that Afghanistan did not apply tariff quotas.  
Imported goods could be exempted from customs duty by a legal act by the Afghan Government, 
i.e., President Order, laws and regulations, and Government agreements; and ratified international 
agreements or conventions.  In accordance with  Article 27(2) of the Customs Law, the following 
imported goods could be exempted from paying customs duty:  (i) Goods imported by Officials of 
the State during official travels; (ii) office mate rials and equipment of political representatives and 
international agencies, intended to be used in re sidences and offices of representatives of foreign 
countries in Afghanistan, after confirmation of permission to do so by competent authorities; 
(iii) items intended for personal use by foreigners working in Afghanistan according to the terms 
and conditions of their contract; (iv) permitted books, gazettes, magazines and newspapers; 
(v) goods provided for Government projects funded by loans or imported into the country by or for 
public and private foreign and international reli ef and development agencies approved by the 
Government; (vi) personal effects used by Afghan delegations or Afghan international workers and 
their family members while abroad; (vii) travellers' personal goods in accordance with the customs 
tariff; (viii) commercial samples and advertising gifts; (ix) post parcels valued at less than 
AF 5,000; (x) honorary decorations or awards; (xi) samples sent to organizations protecting 
copyrights or industrial or commercial patent rights; (xii) used movable property belonging to natural persons, who transfer their normal place of  residence from another country to Afghanistan, 
as provided in the customs tariff; (xiii) pure-bred breeding animals and insects and laboratory 
animals; (xiv) biological or chemical substances needed for scientific researches; (xv) therapeutic 
substances of human origin and blood grouping and tissue typing reagents; (xvi) substances for 
the quality control of medicinal products; (xvii) fuels, lubricants and equipment carried with and 
necessary for the normal functioning of transport vehicles in accordance with the relevant 
procedure.  The exemption applied only to fuels,  lubricants and equipment of transport vehicles 
bringing goods into Afghanistan from abroad, and not such goods imported for commercial sale; 
and (xviii) other goods could be included as exem pted goods upon recommendation of the Minister 
of Finance and approval by the Council of Minister s.  An approved application form would need to 
be presented to the Customs Office when claiming an exemption. 
77. In response to a specific question, the representative of Afghanistan stated that imports of 
printed books; brochures, leaflets, and other printed matter were exempted from paying customs 
duties in accordance with Article 27 of the Customs Law of 2007.  He said that Afghanistan's tariff 
schedule did not show these goods as being duty-f ree because in practice the exemption was only 
applied on books and materials imported for academic purposes. 
78. [The representative of Afghanistan stated th at upon accession to the WTO, any tariff 
exemptions would only be implemented in conformity with the relevant WTO provisions including 
Article I of the GATT 1994 and the TRIMs Agreement.   He further confirmed that any tariff rate 
quotas, if introduced in the future, would be applied and administered in conformity with WTO rules and regulations, including Article I and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  
The Working Party took note of this commitment.] WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  - Fees and charges for services rendered 
79. The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan did not currently charge any 
customs processing fee per se .  He noted that the Afghan Customs Department charged for costs 
of various customs forms including approximately US$20 for a T-1 Form at the border and 
approximately US$4 for ASYCUDA electronic processing fee (see Table 5(a)) which were essentially 
fees for customs processing.  He noted that these fees were below the cost of services rendered 
and would be adjusted in the future.  He further noted that the fee schedule for international transit through Afghanistan was as follows:  (i) US$100 for total weight equal or below 25 tonnes; 
and (ii) another US$100 for weight exceeding 25 tonnes.  In reply to a question concerning this 
fee schedule, he said that the transit form, issued by Transit Department at MOCI, primarily 
served as the declaration for international transit and as a transit permit.  In issuing, reviewing 
and stamping the transit form, the Transit Department at MOCI incurred administrative costs for 
providing such services.  The fee was intended to recover these related administrative costs to the 
issuance of transit form and not the overall operations of the Transit Department.  Once ASYCUDA 
T2 Transit form was implemented at all entry points in Afghanistan, the role of MOCI Transit 
Department in issuing the Transit Form would be reconsidered. 
80. Asked about other fees, the representative of Afghanistan stated that there were fees for 
customs storage (see Table 5(b)).  For goods, which were imported duty free, the rate before exemption or the previously applied rate of du ty was used for the purpose of computing the 
storage fees.  The representative of Afghanista n acknowledged that the current fee structure for 
storage was WTO-inconsistent.  He said that Afghanistan was working on establishing a new 
WTO-consistent structure for storage fees based on fixed fee per cubic meter to bring it into 
conformity with Article VIII of the GATT 1994, from  the date of accession.  In 2013, an appropriate 
legislative act would be adopted to bring the new fee structure into force in 2014.  
81. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that his Government would revise its 
legislation on its fees for customs storage to en sure that by 1 July 2014 the application of these 
fees was in accordance with Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  He further confirmed that the fees for licenses to import medicines and medical equi pment and telecommunications equipment would be 
revised to conform to WTO provisions, and that fr om the date of accession any fees or charges 
imposed on or in connection with importation and exportation, would be applied in accordance with 
the provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Ar ticles I and VIII of the GATT 1994.  The Working 
Party took note of this commitment.] 
- Application of internal taxes to imports 
82. As regards taxes applied to imports, the representative of Afghanistan stated that there 
were:  (i) tax benefiting the Afghan Red Crescent  Agency; (ii) fixed tax; and (iii) the Business 
Receipts Tax (see Table 6).  There was no value-added tax or excise duty applicable in 
Afghanistan. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  83. The 2% tax benefiting the Afghan Red Crescent  Agency was applied on all imports except 
food items (see Section on Other Duties and Charges). 
84. As regards the application of the fixed tax, [the representative of Afghanistan said that a tax 
of 2 and 3% were charged on imports (customs duty plus customs value).  In response to a 
specific query regarding these taxes, he said that:  (i) persons who imported goods with a 
business licence were charged 2% tax; (ii) persons who imported goods without a business licence 
were charged 3% tax; (iii) persons with investme nt licence (only) from AISA were charged 2% tax 
when importing for own use /operations and 3% tax when importing for commercial purpose; 
(iv) persons with investment licence from AISA and a business licence from BLD were charged 2% 
tax when importing goods for own use/operations or commercial purpose; and (v) natural persons 
importing goods for their own consumption without any licence were charged 3% tax.]   
85. The representative of Afghanistan stated that in accordance with Article 70 of the Income 
Tax Law of 2009, administered by the Ministry of Finance, the fixed tax, in addition to import 
duties, was applied on imports and was not levied on like locally produced goods.  [The fixed tax 
collected could be used against the tax liability of a trader, i.e. fixed tax payments on imports 
could be claimed as credit in the calculation of a trader's annual income tax assessment.  He noted 
that this was a minor administrative process.  As such, Afghanistan did not view the application of 
fixed tax on imports as violating Article III of the GATT 1994.]  
86. The representative of Afghanistan noted also that a Business Receipts Tax (BRT) of 2% was 
charged on imports (customs duty plus customs value) and on the total gross income (sales) of domestic legal persons.  As such, a BRT of 2% was indirectly applied on domestic goods.  
The representative of Afghanistan said that Afghanistan did not view a BRT to be in violation of 
Article III of the GATT 1994.  He further stated that a VAT Law was approved by the Council of 
Ministers in May 2013.  The level of the VAT will be 10% and would apply equally on taxable 
goods, services and imports.  The Law will be  submitted to the Parliament in July 2013 for 
adoption and would come into force before the end of 2013.  
87. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed th at from the date of accession Afghanistan's 
laws, regulations and other measures relating to internal taxes and charges levied on imports 
would be in full conformity with its WTO obligations, including Article III of the GATT 1994, and 
that it would implement such laws, regulations and other measures in full conformity with those 
obligations.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
- Quantitative import restrictions, incl uding prohibitions, quotas and licensing 
systems 
88. The representative of Afghanistan said that lic enses, permits or approvals were required for 
the importation of medicines, medical equipmen t, cosmetics and pharmacy tools; veterinary 
medical instruments and veterinary drugs and bi ological materials; printed books, brochures, 
leaflets, and other printed matters; films; telecommunications equipment; armoured vehicles, 
arms, ammunitions, military equipment; precurso rs and narcotic chemicals; endangered species WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  and ozone-depleting substances.  Licenses were valid for one year, except for precursors and 
narcotic chemicals (six months) and endangered species (six months with extension for one year).  Permits were granted for a single import transaction except for veterinary medical instruments and 
veterinary drugs and biological materials where multiple import transactions were authorised (see 
Table 7(a)).  In many cases, importers had the op tion to apply for permits, licenses, and approvals 
after the arrival of goods at entry points into the territory of Afghanistan.  He noted that in most 
cases the period of validity and terms of licenses  and permits were not established by law and that 
a law on foreign trade in goods would be adopted which would formally set the validity period to 
be one year.  Information on import licensing procedures was provided by Afghanistan in 
document WT/ACC/AFG/10.  Ozone-depleting substa nces requiring import permits from the NEPA, 
as per the Law on Environment of 25 January 2007, were listed in Table 7(b).  
89. The representative of Afghanistan said that the import of medicines and medical equipment 
was subject to permits of the Ministry of Public He alth (MPH).  To apply for a permit, the applicant 
was required to hold an activity licence for engaging in the trading of medicines and medical 
equipment from MPH and a business licence from MoCI.  Companies engaged in importation of 
medicine and other medical equipment could not operate without a pharmacist, i.e. only 
companies that had at least one pharmacist (who can be a foreign certified pharmacist) on their 
staff could apply for the right to import medicines and medical equipment.  Natural persons 
(doctors and pharmacists) could not import medicines or medical equipment.  In addition, 
medicines and medical equipment to be imported needed to be registered in the Legal Medicines List.  Import of medicines and medical equipment, which were not in the Legal Medicines List, 
could be allowed in special cases, on the basis of  a proposal of the Pharmacy Affairs Department 
and approval of the National Medicine and Food Board.  He added that the permit system for 
medicines and medical equipment was maintained based on the Law on Medicine of 
14 November 2008, the Law on Public Health of 24 February 2007, and the Council of Ministers 
Regulation on Production and Import of Medici nes and Medical Equipment of 19 February 2007.  
The application for import permits could be submitte d at any time before the importation, including 
upon arrival of goods at the port of entry.  Proc essing time was less than three days, provided that 
all required documents were submitted.  Upon obtaining a permit for import, a fee of 0.075% of 
the total cost of imported medicines was charged.  In response to a Member's concern that a 
licensing fee for importation could not be based on the value of imports, the representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan would adjust this fee prior to its WTO accession to reflect the 
cost of services rendered.  
90. The representative of Afghanistan said that ba sed on Article 20 of the Regulation on Export 
and Import of Medicines and Tools of February 20 07, a sample ought to be taken from every Batch 
or Lot number of medicines and medical devices.  A professional representative of the General 
Department of Pharmacy Affairs (GDPA) performed sampling.  The duration of the test was 
different and depended on the type, compositions and dosage form of medicines.  It normally took 
5-10 days.  The representative stated that this process did not hinder trade and was in line with 
international best practices.  Nonetheless, he added that modernization of laboratories could help WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  in reducing testing time and Afghanistan would appreciate any assistance from WTO Members in 
this respect. 
91. As regards importation of pesticides, he said that an import permit was not required but an 
agreement had to be signed between the Department of Plant Protection and Quarantine and 
importers of agricultural pesticides of various types.  The agreement laid out the obligations of 
both parties, which included requiring importers to provide safety and quality certificate of 
pesticides from the country of origin, conditions for storage, transport, use etc. for the pesticides.  
Samples were taken at the border for testing of pesticides prior to clearance.  If the goods were in 
accordance with the WHO and FAO prescribed lists,  generally, in a time period of one day, the 
Plant Protection and Quarantine service would certify the Agreement of Conditions.  No fee was 
charged for the Agreement.  The Agreement of Conditions had to be obtained prior to finalization of the Customs clearance procedures and removal of the goods from Customs control Asked about 
any restrictions for dangerous pesticides, the representative of Afghanistan provided a list of 
banned and restricted pesticides (see Table 8).  As regards importation of agrochemicals, the 
importer had to provide information about the importing entity to MAIL and a quality certificate 
issued in the country of origin was required. 
92. In reply to a question concerning a discriminatory licensing fee for importation of films listed 
in Table 7(a), the representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan would revise the fee 
structure to ensure consistency with Article I of the GATT 1994.  As regards the additional fee of 
US$10 for a "board review", he said this fee was for screening of films for the purpose of censoring 
and the amount reflected the cost of services rendered.   
93. As regards the fees for import permit and import licence for telecommunications equipment 
listed in Table 7(a), he said that Afghanistan was considering restructuring these fees to ensure 
they reflected the cost of services rendered in line with Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  He also 
noted that the fee for import licence was designed to reflect the costs of services rendered related 
to this licence which included the cost associated with issuance of the licence and confirmation of 
equipment, when requested by customs, at the ti me of importation to ensure that they are in 
accordance with the licence. 
94. The representative of Afghanistan said th at Article 53 of the Customs Law of 2005 
authorised the Afghan Customs Department (ACD) to adopt prohibitions or restrictions for reasons 
of:  public morality, public security, protection of  environment, health and life of humans, animals 
or plants, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value 
or the protection of industrial and commercial prop erty and other state policies.  He stated that the 
Tariff Schedule of Afghanistan prohibited the imports of:  (i) alcoholic drinks; (ii) live pork; 
(iii) meat and edible offal of pork; (iv) pork fat; (v) cotton seeds; and (vi) narcotics and illegal 
drugs.  He said that the import of liquorice, carpets, rugs of wool or fine animal hair, marble and 
travertine, table salt, powdered salt, gypsum, anhy dride and plasters was no longer prohibited.  
In reply to a specific question, he added that import prohibitions on table salt, powdered salt, 
gypsum, anhydride and plasters were eliminated in August 2011 by removing the reference to WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  prohibited goods marked as "P" in Afghanistan's Tariff Schedule.  The representative of 
Afghanistan confirmed that the import of ammonium nitrate was not allowed because of security reasons as it could be used in making bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).  He also 
stated that the import of almonds and walnuts was no longer prohibited but the re-exportation of 
such items was banned.   
95. In response to a concern that there was no justification for the import prohibition of cotton 
seeds, the representative of Afghanistan said that  this measure had been in place for many years 
due to historic evidence of disease in cotton seeds imported from Central Asian countries.  
He stated that a new draft Law on Protection and Quarantine was being finalized which would be in 
accordance with the principles of the WTO SPS Ag reement.  After further scientific research to 
determine if the disease still existed, decision would be taken in line with the WTO SPS Agreement.  He further stated that the import ban on cotton seed was eliminated.  
96. Asked to explain if Afghanistan intended to establish a WTO-consistent licensing system, the 
representative of Afghanistan stated that a law on foreign trade in goods would be adopted which 
would reflect the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  He stated 
that the current situation reflected Afghanistan's limited control over and regulation of imports.  
Each ministry and state body listed in Table 7(a) currently maintained its own import licensing 
regime.  Afghanistan's import regime, including its import licensing regime, was expected to 
evolve in the future, keeping in line with international obligations.  The representative of 
Afghanistan undertook to submit a revised document WT/ACC/AFG/10, which would contain also information concerning permits and approvals necessary to import medicines and medical 
equipment; arms, ammunitions and military equipment; and printed books, brochures, leaflets and 
other printed matters.  He also said that the draft Law on Foreign Trade in Goods would be 
submitted to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in June 2013.   
97. [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that from the date of accession Afghanistan 
would eliminate and would not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions or other 
non-tariff measures on imports, such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorisation 
requirements, licensing requirements, and other rest rictions having equivalent effect that cannot 
be justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  In this regard, Afghanistan eliminated its 
import prohibition on cotton seed, table salt, powd ered salt, gypsum, anhydride, and plasters prior 
to accession to the WTO.  If balance-of-payments measures were necessary, Afghanistan would impose them in a manner consistent with the relevant WTO provisions, including Article XII and 
Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 and the Understandin g on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the 
GATT 1994.  He further confirmed that the legal authority of the Government of Afghanistan to 
ban, prohibit, or suspend imports and exports or to apply licensing requirements that could be 
used to ban, prohibit, suspend or otherwise restri ct the quantity of trade would be applied from 
the date of accession in conformity with the re quirements of the WTO.  The Working Party took 
note of these commitments.]    WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that from the date of accession Afghanistan 
would eliminate and would not introduce, re-introduce or apply quantitative restrictions or other non-tariff measures on imports, such as licensing, quotas, bans, permits, prior authorisation 
requirements, licensing requirements, and other rest rictions having equivalent effect that cannot 
be justified under the provisions of the WTO Agreement.  In this regard, Afghanistan eliminated its 
import prohibition on cotton seed, table salt, powd ered salt, gypsum, anhydride, and plasters prior 
to accession to the WTO.  If balance-of-payments measures were necessary, Afghanistan would 
impose them in a manner consistent with the relevant WTO provisions, including Article XII and 
Article XVIII of the GATT 1994 and the Understandin g on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the 
GATT 1994.  He further confirmed that the legal authority of the Government of Afghanistan to 
ban, prohibit, or suspend imports and exports or to apply licensing requirements that could be used to ban, prohibit, suspend or otherwise restri ct the quantity of trade would be applied from 
the date of accession in conformity with the requ irements of the WTO [and Afghanistan's terms of 
accession].  The Working Party took note of these commitments.]    
- Customs valuation 
98. The representative of Afghanistan stated that the rules on customs valuation were stipulated 
in the Customs Law of 2005 and the Council of Mi nisters Regulation No. 38 on Determining the 
Price of Goods in Customs, in which valuation methods were defined.  He added that his Government recognized that changes to the Customs Law and a new Regulation No. 38 would be 
required for purposes of closer conformity with the valuation methods and other obligations of the 
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation (CVA). 
99. Based on the provisions of Regulation No. 38,  system of customs valuation in Afghanistan 
for both imports and exports was based on the principles set out in the Agreement on 
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.  Valuation was based on the transaction value of 
the goods subject to adjustments due to the incl usion of cost insurance and freight charges.  
In case of dispute over accuracy of the transactio ns value, one or more of the alternative methods 
provided for in the Agreement.  To the extent that the Customs Law and Regulation No. 38 lack 
specific provisions related to the valuation methods specified in the Agreement, proposed 
amendments to the Customs Law would incorporate th em in full in the law.  Concerning Article 7 
of the Agreement, Article 8 of Regulation No. 38 set out a "fall-back" method of valuation where 
the customs value would be determined on the basi s of one of the methods the other methods, but 
ignoring some of the details of the characteristi cs of the goods, such as colour, quantity, period, 
etc. 
100.  Members stated that they had reviewed Afghanistan's legislation pertaining to the 
implementation of the CVA, including Regulati on No. 38 and the draft amendments to Customs 
Law and found not to be in full conformity with its provisions.  In particular, the provisions of 
Articles 24 and 26 of the draft Customs Law am endments and Article 11 of Regulation No. 38 
appeared to provide for the valuation of goods on bases prohibited by the CVA.  Members noted that the CVA provided a fair, uniform, and neutral system for the valuation of all goods for WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  customs purposes and precluded the use of arbitrar y or fictitious customs values.  They expressed 
extreme concern with these provisions and asked th e representative of Afghanistan to explain how 
they could be administered in conformity with th e Customs Valuation Agreement, in particular with 
the absolute prohibition in Article 7.2(f) of that Agreement of valuation based on minimum values.   
101.  In reply, the representative of Afghanistan stated that further amendments would be 
proposed to the Customs Law and that Regulation No. 38 would be replaced by a new Regulation 
to fully incorporate the prohibitions stipulated in Article 7.2 and other provisions of Article 7 of the 
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation.  In particular, it would be made clear in the legislation that 
under no circumstances would minimum values be applied for the determination of customs 
valuation.  In addition, as provided for in Arti cle 11 of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation 
amendments were  proposed to Article 18 and Ar ticle 20 of the Customs Law which would require 
the General Directorate of Customs or the Customs Arbitration Administration, when an adverse 
decision was made on appeal, to notify the applic ant in writing, give reasons for the decision, and 
advise the applicant of his rights of further review; provide the applicant with the option to appeal 
a decision by the General Directorate of Customs to either the Customs Arbitration Administration 
or a court of competent jurisdiction, and explicitly provide that there would be no penalty or threat 
of penalty made against a person by reason of the fact that an appeal had been made. 
102.  The representative of Afghanistan continue d that Article 9 of the WTO Agreement on 
Customs Valuation was implemented pursuant to Article 25 of the Customs Law, which stated that 
a customs value had to be computed in Afghan currency at a rate of exchange that was established by the Da Afghanistan Bank and publis hed at http://www.centralb ank.gov.af.  He also 
noted that Article 10 of the WTO Agreement on  Customs Valuation was implemented through 
Article 13 of the Customs Law, which expressly prohibited the Customs Authority from disclosing 
information about the valuation of specific good, the names, addresses or other details about 
suppliers of goods, testing results, or information that was provided to the Customs Authority on a 
confidential basis, without the express permission  of the person who provided the information and 
without legal authority to do so.   
103.  Responding to several questions, the representative of Afghanistan pointed out that, as 
required by Article 12 of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, the Government of 
Afghanistan published its laws and regulations on customs valuation in the Official Gazette of the 
Ministry of Justice at www.moj.gov. af, and also in the hard copy ve rsion of the Official Gazette.  
Concerning judicial decisions, these were published on the website of the Supreme Court of 
Afghanistan as well as in Mezan Gazette and Qaza  Magazine.  As for administrative rulings, he 
acknowledged that these were not currently publishe d.  However, he continued, under a proposed 
amendment to the Customs Law, the Customs Authority would be required to promptly make 
publically available administrative decisions or rulings of general application by such means as 
would enable traders and other interested persons to become acquainted with them.  
He concluded that it was anticipated that such rulings and decisions would be published on the 
website of the Ministry of Finance.  He also noted that Article 16 of the WTO Agreement on WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Customs Valuation, requiring written response to enquiries on how valuation was determined, was 
implemented through Article 12 of the Customs Law, which stated that the Customs Authority was authorised to provide information free of charge to a requesting party concerning the application of 
the customs legislation, unless such request conflicted with the confidentiality provisions of 
Article 13 of the same Law.   
104.  He also acknowledged that Article 13 of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation was not 
yet incorporated in Afghanistan's national legislation.  He pointed out that an amendment had 
been proposed to the Customs Law that would allow an importer to obtain release of goods on the 
basis of a declaration containing incomplete or provisional information, such as information related 
to customs value.  Under this proposed amendmen t, the acceptance by the Customs Authority of 
such a declaration could be subject to provision of  a guarantee, and would require the declarant to 
provide any missing information within a period specified by the Customs Authority.  The proposed 
amendment required the Customs Authority to adopt by regulation the measures necessary to 
implement this procedure.   
105.  The Customs Arbitration Administration and its members were independent of the Customs 
Authority, whose decisions it reviewed, which in view of the representative of Afghanistan was 
consistent with Article 11 of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation. 
106.  Article 18 of the draft amendments to the Cu stoms Law provided for a right to appeal 
Customs determinations of customs value, without penalty.  This Article required an initial appeal 
to be made to the General Directorate of Customs; provided for a right of further appeal to the Customs Arbitration Administration or to the Commercial Court; and stated that no person would 
be subject to fine or penalty by reason of exercisi ng these rights of appeal.  Article 18 required the 
General Directorate to issue the decision on appeal in writing, provide reasons, and inform the 
appellant of his further rights of appeal.  The same obligation applied to the Customs Arbitration 
Administration pursuant to Articles 17 and 20(3) of the draft amendments.  The representative of 
Afghanistan said that Commercial Courts provided, in writing, its judicial decision to the appellant, 
including the reasons for its decision.  The Commercial Court did not formally inform the appellant 
about its rights of further appeal.  However, th e plaintiff and defendant were cognizant of their 
rights for further appeal at the provincial level courts.  The representative of Afghanistan continued 
that in line with Article 11 of the CVA, an initial right of appeal was made to "an authority within 
the customs administration", namely, the General Directorate.  Thereafter, the appellant had a choice to appeal directly to a court of competent jurisdiction – a "judicial authority" - or to the 
Customs Arbitration Administration established in the Ministry of Finance, to which the Afghan 
Customs Department was subordinate.  Moreover, decisions by the Customs Arbitration 
Administration could be appealed to the relevant  Commercial Court by the appellant, if the amount 
at issue was AF 50,000 or less, or by the Government or the appellant, if the amount at issue 
exceeded AF 50,000.   
107.  In reply to a specific question, the represen tative of Afghanistan reiterated that a new 
Article 12(a) would be included in the Customs Law which would require the Customs Authority to WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  make available administrative decisions or rulings  of general application promptly by such means 
so as to enable traders and other interested persons to become acquainted with them.  Such decisions and rulings would be published on th e website of the Ministry of Finance and/or the 
Afghanistan Customs Department and could also be published in print. 
108.  In reply to comments that Articles 2.1(b), 2.2, 2.3, 3.1(b), 3.2, 3.3, 15.2 and 15.3 of the 
CVA were currently not incorporated in Afghanistan's legislation, he stated that these provisions 
were included in the draft Regulation on Customs Valuation which would replace the Council of 
Ministers Regulation No. 38 of 23 January 2006.  He added that the Interpretative Notes of the 
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation, the Decision on Software Valuation, and the Decision on 
Treatment of Interest Charges were also incorporated in the above-mentioned draft Regulation 
and would be submitted for review by the Working Party in November 2012.   
109.  [The representative of Afghanistan confir med that, as from the date of accession, 
Afghanistan would apply the WTO provisions concerning customs valuation, including 
the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and Annex I (Interpretative 
Note) and paragraph 2 of the Decision on Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data 
Processing Equipment (Decision No. 4.1), providing that valuation of software was based on the 
value of the media.  He stated that Afghanistan would not use any form of reference or minimum 
prices or fixed valuation schedules for the valuation of imports and that all methods of valuation 
used were in conformity with those provided fo r in the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of 
Article VII of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
[The representative of Afghanistan confir med that, as from the date of accession, 
Afghanistan would apply the WTO provisions concerning customs valuation, including 
the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and Annex I (Interpretative 
Note) and paragraph 2 of the Decision on Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data 
Processing Equipment (Decision No. 4.1), providing that valuation of software was based on the 
value of the media.  He stated that [all methods of valuation used were in conformity with those 
provided in the WTO Agreement on the Implemen tation of Article VII of the GATT 1994; that] 
provided Afghanistan would not use any form of reference or minimum prices or fixed valuation 
schedules for the valuation of imports [; and that any valuation database established by Customs 
would be used only as a risk assessment tool or for other purposes consistent with the WTO 
Agreement and the World Customs Organization guidelines regarding the same.] [all methods of 
valuation used were in conformity with those provided for in the WTO Agreement on the 
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 199 4.]  The Working Party took note of these 
commitments.] 
- Rules of origin 
110.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Chapter 6 of the Customs Law of 2005 
addressed the rules of origin.  Currently, Afghanistan did not have specific acts on rules of origin.  
He confirmed that there were no laws or regulations that would deny access based on country of WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  origin.  The representative of Afghanistan indica ted that several amendments were being prepared 
concerning origin rulings prior to importation.  In response to a specific query regarding advance ruling on origin, the representative of Afghanistan stated that the draft amendments to the 
Customs Law of 2005 had been prepared to reflect Article 3(f) and Annex 2, paragraph 3(d) of the 
WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin.  
111.  He further noted that Article 17(b) (Binding Decisions) of the draft amendments to the 
Customs Law authorised rulings on origin of prospective imports.  This Article provided that 
Customs would issue binding decisions and that such decisions on origin would remain valid for 
three years from issuance.  Article 17 also required Customs to issue the decision within 30 days; 
to provide reasons for its decision; and define the conditions under which a decision could be 
revoked or annulled, and the procedures that apply in such cases.  He stated that his Government 
had prepared a draft Order on Advance Ruling on Binding Decisions to implement these Articles of 
the Customs Law.  This draft Order set out rules for application, processing and administration of 
rulings.  It provided for rulings on country of origin of goods, for both preferential and 
non-preferential purposes, and on questions of ta riff classification of goods (i.e. Article 17(b)(1) 
required Customs to issue rulings on origin and allowed Customs to issue rulings on other 
matters).  The draft Order assigned responsibility  for administration of the rulings programme to 
the Technical Director of Customs within the General Directorate of Customs.  
112.  Certificates of origin were required for all shipments including import and export.  
There were no criteria or requirements that had to  be met by foreign bodies who issue certificates 
of origin.  Currently, the Afghan Customs Department recognized Chambers of Commerce as 
competent authorities in the exporting country to provide certificates of origin.  There was no 
formal process for checking the authenticity of the certificate of origin.  In case of doubt, the 
Afghan Customs Department would contact, via electronic means, the competent authority 
(Chamber of Commerce) in the relevant country to verify the authenticity of the certificate.  
113.  A Member considered that the requirement of a certificate of origin, issued by Chambers of 
Commerce, for each importation imposed an unnecessary burden on exporters.  In response, the 
representative of Afghanistan stated that his Government had under consideration a revision of 
Article 31 of the draft amendments to the Customs Law in order to clarify the type of documentary 
proof of origin (e.g., declaration of origin by exporter or other competent person; certificate of 
origin; certified declaration of origin) and the conditions under which proof of origin could be required.  Where a certificate of origin or certified declaration of origin was required, separate 
procedures would indicate the competent certifying authority or body.  This authority would permit 
the Afghan Customs Department to limit the cases under which documentary proof of origin could 
be required and to rely on the origin declared in  the goods declaration.  The proposed revision to 
Article 31, which was under consideration, would conform with the terminology of the relevant 
WCO Revised Kyoto Convention.  
114.  Asked to explain a procedure when a shipment lacked a certificate of origin at the time of 
importation, he said that Article 56(a) (Incomplete and Provisional Declarations) of the draft WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  amendments to the Customs Law provided that Customs would release imported goods despite a 
missing required document, provided that the declar ant furnished a security to ensure collection of 
any applicable duties and taxes and undertook to provide the missing document within a period 
specified by Customs. 
115.  As for exports, certificates of origin were mandatory for all exports, including to countries 
and for products that did not require such certificat es to be accepted as imports in the country of 
importation.  This policy was in place to ensure that exporters did not face any issues in the 
countries of importation in case relevant authorities requested a certificate.  The certificates of 
origin issued by the Afghanistan Chamber of Comm erce and Industry (ACCI) for exports were the 
only ones recognized by Afghanistan's Customs Authority.  ACCI was the only Chamber in 
Afghanistan that had the system/process and resour ces to issue such certificates and that had 
branches in the 23 regions of Afghanistan.  ACCI fees for issuing the export certificate of origin 
were AF 50 (around US$1) for India and AF 300 (around US$6) for other countries.  These fees 
were below the cost of services rendered and we re established by the High Council for Chamber 
Issues, which included ACCI representatives, traders, Minister of Commerce and the Deputy 
Minister of Finance.  
116.  He further noted that certificates of origin to exporters who were only exporting to countries, 
which provided preferences to Afghan exports, were  now issued by the ACCI instead of the Export 
Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA).  
117.  [The representative of Afghanistan stated th at, from the date of accession, Afghanistan's 
laws and regulations for preferential and non-prefer ential rules of origin would comply fully with 
the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin.  He further confirmed that Afghanistan's rules of origin 
would be notified to the WTO Secretariat and the Committee on Rules of Origin by that time.  
The requirements of Article 2(h) and Annex II, paragraph 3(d) of the Agreement would be fully 
implemented from the date of accession and Afgh anistan's Customs Authorities would provide for 
an assessment of the origin of the import upon th e request of an exporter, importer or any person 
with a justifiable cause.  Any request for such an assessment would be accepted even before trade 
in the goods concerned began.  Any such assessment would be binding for three years.  
The Working Party took note of these commitments.] 
- Other customs formalities 
118.  The representative of Afghanistan said that importers had to submit a customs declaration 
for imports accompanied by an invoice or other proof of the price actually paid, certificate of 
origin, and shipment documentation.  In response to a specific question, he further said that there 
was no need for firms to join the Afghan Cham ber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in order to 
trade in Afghanistan.  
119.  The representative of Afghanistan said that a Memorandum of Understanding between the 
Minister of Finance responsible for customs administration and the Minister of Commerce and WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Industries responsible for dry ports was to be signed in the near future to increase coordination 
between the two existing authorities for border measures.   
- Pre-shipment inspection 
120.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that  Afghanistan did not intend to implement a 
preshipment inspection programme.  
121.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that, from the date of accession, if a 
preshipment inspection scheme were to be introd uced in the future, its operation would be in 
conformity with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on 
Preshipment Inspection, and the Agreement on Im plementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, 
inter alia , in respect of the due process and transparen cy requirements of the WTO Agreement, in 
particular Article X of the GATT 1994 and the Ag reement on Implementation of Article VII of 
the GATT 1994.  In addition, Afghanistan would ensure that charges and fees for preshipment 
inspection would comply with Article VIII of the GATT 1994, that preshipment entities would 
establish and maintain appeals procedures as foreseen by Article 2.21 of the WTO Agreement on 
Preshipment Inspection, and that that scheme would not constitute an undue and additional 
burden on exporters to or importers of goods into  Afghanistan.  The Working Party took note of 
these commitments. 
- Anti-dumping, countervailing du ties, and safeguard regimes 
122.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that at present Afghanistan currently did not have 
anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard laws.  He added that Afghanistan intended to 
develop WTO-consistent legislation on anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard measures 
and that measures would be applied and notified in accordance with respective WTO Agreements 
and that any existing or future authority to restrain imports would be used in a WTO-compatible 
manner. In reply to a question if any legal authority to restrain imports for balance of payments, 
commercial or competitive reasons existed in Afghanistan, the representative of Afghanistan explained that Article 3(46) of the Draft Amen dments to the Customs Law of 2005 defined and 
authorised the application of "commercial policy measures" including the imposition of quotas, 
ceilings, countervailing duties on subsidized foreign goods, anti-dumping duties, or similar 
provisions for advancing national (keshwar) commercial interests. Article 65 of the Draft 
Amendments to the Customs Law of 2005 required that any release of goods for free circulation 
would be subject to verification of whether or not commercial policy measures had been applied, 
completion of all other requirements for importation of goods, and the collection of the 
customs debt.  The Customs Authority would be responsible for the application of commercial 
policy measures established by Ministry of Comme rce and Industries (MoCI) to goods presented 
for import or export, as well as ensuring completion of the relevant customs formalities and 
collection of the customs debt and no other entity had been designated to implement this authority 
to apply "commercial policy measures".  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan 
would administer and apply commercial policy measures in conformity with respective 
WTO Agreements.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  123.  [The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that Afghanistan would not apply any 
anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard measures until it had implemented and notified appropriate laws in conformity with the provis ions of the WTO Agreements on these matters.  
Afghanistan would ensure the full conformity of any such legislation with the relevant 
WTO provisions, including Article VI and XI X of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on the 
Implementation of Article VI, the Agreement on  Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the 
Agreement on Safeguards.  After such legislat ion was implemented and notified, Afghanistan 
would only apply any anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguard measures in full 
conformity with the relevant WTO provisions.  The Working Party took note of these 
commitments.] 
B. EXPORT REGULATIONS 
124.  The representative of Afghanistan said that a business licence issued by the Ministry of 
Commerce and Industries was required and granted the right to export.  The same procedures and 
requirements for obtaining a business licence for import applied for export.  [He further stated 
that, exports subject to export duties were subject to a fixed tax of 2 or 3% of the duty-paid 
customs value depending whether or not the exporter had a business licence.] 
125.  He noted that a legal person or sole proprietor could apply for a business licence for export, 
which was granted in all cases.   
126.  In 2011, the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) for export was established which centralized the location 
for issuing most of the required export documents.  It was located at the Customs Internal 
Customs Depot (Customs House) in Kabul.  There is no legal document establishing the export 
OSS but a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among relevant ministries, state bodies, and 
associations.  The representative of Afghanistan provided a list of mandatory documents for 
exportation.  In addition to the exporters Business Licence, these included:  a certificate of origin; 
a commercial invoice; certification if exporting plants, plant products, animals, animal products, or 
seeds; and authorisation from the appropriate Ministry if exporting scrap metals or minerals 
(see Table 10). He also said that exporters had the option of obtaining these documents at the OSS (for ministries which had a representative at the OSS) or from the relevant ministry.  
In addition, in order, to clear Customs for export , a customs declaration, packing list and bill of 
lading would be required. 
- Customs tariffs, fees and charges for serv ices rendered, application of internal 
taxes to exports 
127.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan did not have many export duties 
or export taxes except for:  (i) iron ores an d concentrates including roasted iron pyrites; 
(ii) unprocessed and processed marble; (iii) minerals; (iv) natural or cultured pearls and precious 
or semi-precious stones; and (v) waste or scrap me tal (see details of export duties in Table 11).  
Afghanistan was prepared to negotiate binding levels for its export duties.  [Other export taxes 
applied on those products were: (i) fixed tax of 2% when exporting with a business licence; and, WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  (ii) fixed tax of 3% when exporting without a business licence.  Collected fixed taxes applied 
against the tax liability of the trader and could be claimed as credit in the calculation of the trader's annual income tax assessment.  The representative of Afghanistan also said that there 
was a fixed tax of 2% on all re-exports (i.e. expo rtation of foreign goods which were imported to 
Afghanistan and have paid all import duties and taxes).] 
128.  The ACCI previously certified all export invoic es and charged 0.1% of the value of exported 
goods.  In reply to a specific question, the re presentative of Afghanistan confirmed that the 
mandatory certification of export invoices by the ACCI had been eliminated.  In addition, the ACCI 
previously issued certificates of origin (COO) for exports, at a fee of AF 50 (around US$1) for India 
and AF 300 (around US$6) for other countries.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that 
the COO for exports were no longer mandatory.   
- Export restrictions 
129.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that export authorisation at MoCI was a formality, 
and this requirement had been eliminated.  Approv als by other bodies were still required for all 
minerals; handicrafts (to check if antique); scrap metals; printed books; brochures; leaflets and 
other printed matters (Law on Media of 6 July 2005); and films.  The purpose of export 
authorisation from the Ministry of Mine for all minerals (Mineral Law of 11 August 2005) was to 
ensure that producers paid royalty to the treasury .  Currently, there was only an export approval 
measure to determine if handicrafts were antique.  If they were not, an export certificate was 
granted and a fee of 5% of the value of the in voice was charged.  Details of current export 
measures and the related fees, ministries and agencies involved were provided in Table 9.  
He noted that the following export measures were no longer mandatory:  (i) Karakul - export 
authorisation from Karakul Institute; (ii) handicrafts - export authorisation from Handicraft 
Promotion Center; (iii) carpets, rugs and felts - ex port authorisation from the Carpet Exporter and 
Producers Guild; (iv) fresh fruits, dried fruits and vegetables - quality certificate issued by the 
Afghan Raisin, Fruits and Vegetables Promotion A ssociation; and, (v) glass, plastics and coal – 
export authorisation from the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan.  In reply to a specific question, he said that authorisations granted for export of scrap metals were automatic. 
130.  With regard to export authorisation for animal  products (skins, wools, and intestines), the 
representative of Afghanistan said that the Industrial Commercial Services Association for Animal 
and Plant Products conducted visual inspection of ex ported goods to ensure that they were in good 
condition/quality and were well packaged.  The objective was to collect export statistics and to 
ensure that Afghan exports were of high quality in order to maintain reputation for Afghan exports.  
Certain animal and plant products were regist ered at the Industrial Commercial Services 
Association.  Such registration for member of the Association as well as the visual inspection were 
voluntary and not related to sanitary or phytosanitary requirements.  The representative of 
Afghanistan confirmed that the same criteria and objectives applied for securing export 
authorisation for carpets and rugs from the Ca rpet Exporter and Producers Guild and export 
authorisation for handicrafts from the Handicraft Promotion Centre. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  131.  The representative of Afghanistan said that export of goods was currently subject to the 
procedures stipulated in the Business Licence Regulation of 2004.  The representative of Afghanistan said that according to Article 53 of the Customs Law, the Head of Customs 
Department may apply prohibitions or restrictions, in accordance with relevant legislation, for 
reasons of: public morality; public security; protecti on of the environment; protection of the health 
and life of humans, animals or plants; the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, 
historic or archaeological value; or the protection of industrial and commercial property and other 
state policies.  He noted that antiquities were currently prohibited from export in accordance with 
the Law on Preservation of Historic and Cultural Heritage of Afghanistan of 2004. 
132.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that  the export of narcotics and illegal drugs and 
the export of timber were prohibited.  Details of export prohibited species of animals, plants and 
insects were provided in Table 12.  
- Export subsidies 
133.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that Afghanistan did not offer any reductions in 
direct or indirect taxation based on export performance.  There were also no 
government-sponsored schemes to promote exports through the use of subsidies.  
C. INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECT ING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS 
- Industrial policy, including subsidies 134.  The representative of Afghanistan said that Afghanistan did not anticipate adopting any 
subsidies contingent upon export performance or import substitution in the future.  It could, 
however, adopt industrial subsidies, which were permitted under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. 
135.  Currently, the following law provided authority for granting subsidies in the minerals and 
hydrocarbon sectors:  Income Tax Law of 2009 - For a person holding a mining licence or mining 
authorisation or who was a party to a hydrocarbons contract, a special tax regime was provided 
including accelerated depreciation and exemption from the BRT.  Prior to accession, Afghanistan 
undertook to submit draft notification of any subsidy pursuant to Article 25 of the Agreement on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. 
136.  The establishment of industrial parks was an important factor in attracting investment to 
Afghanistan.  The Ministry of Co mmerce and Industries evaluated applications for establishment in 
the old parks and the Afghanistan Investment Supp ort Agency (AISA) evaluated those established 
in new parks.  Since January 2013, all industrial parks became under the administration of AISA.  
The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan did not have a law that regulated 
industrial parks and that, in practice, the process of establishing an industrial park was as follows:  
the AISA identified location and land boundaries to establish an industrial park and sent a request 
(one page letter) to the Ministry of Agriculture, Ir rigation, and Livestock (MAIL) to allocate the land 
establishing the industrial park.  The MAIL then prepared a draft proposal (one page) to transfer WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  the land to AISA.  Once the draft proposal was a pproved by the President of Afghanistan, the land 
was transferred to AISA, which would start the development of the industrial park.  He further stated that the criteria, used to evaluate the a pplication submitted by investors for allotment of 
lots in industrial parks, were recently revised and were as follows:  job creation; amount of 
investment; business plan; experience of investor in  the  s p e c ific  f ie ld ; and, typ e  of p rod uc tion .   
He also stated that there were no requirements for local hiring or local content in the production 
process of the firms locating in the industrial parks. 
137.  In response to a question regarding the indust rial parks, the representative of Afghanistan 
said that there were around 400 companies in the old industrial parks in Kandahar, Pul-e-Charki, 
Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif.  He also added that new industrial parks have been constructed in 
Bagrami, Mazar and Kandahar and parks were under construction in Helmand and Hasarshahi.  In all new industrial parks, the Government as developer of the park was providing the basic 
infrastructure facilities such as roads, water, electricity, sewage facilities and wastewater 
treatment facilities.  Government-provided basic infrastructure was the only benefit that accrues to 
firms that located in these industrial parks.  No tax/duty exemptions or other subsidies were 
provided for locating in the industrial parks or  f o r  g o o d s  p r o d u c e d  i n  t h e  p a r k s .   A s k e d  a b o u t  
preferences available to enterprises in the industrial  parks, he said that such enterprises were not 
eligible for any customs tariff, tax or other preferences but they had access to land at lower cost 
and adequate infrastructure.  All Afghanistan laws  including the new Labour Code equally applied 
on all persons established in the industrial parks. 
138.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that in come from export of goods and services was 
not exempt from corporate income tax.  Export receipts were exempt from the Business Receipts 
Tax.  A Member raised concerns that this exemption appeared inconsistent with the requirements 
of Article 3.1(a) of the WTO Agreement on Su bsidies and Countervailing Measures prohibiting 
subsidies contingent upon export performance.  In  the view of the representative of Afghanistan, 
these measures were in line with common international practice where, for example, export 
receipts were VAT-exe mpt or zero-rated. 
139.  The representative of Afghanistan stated th at although the Customs Law of 2005 contained 
duty drawback provisions, there was no duty drawback mechanism in place or implementing 
regulations and thus the provision was currently not operational.  He said that if Afghanistan 
decided to operationalize duty drawback provisio ns, implementing regulations would be consistent 
with the Law, e.g. there would be no duty drawba ck in excess of duties actually paid.  He noted 
that Afghanistan currently maintained records of duties paid at the time of importation.  
140.  Afghanistan was prepared to make a commitment not to introduce export performance or 
local content requirements prohibited under Article 3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures. 
141.  [The representative of Afghanistan confir med that from the date of accession his 
Government would not maintain subsidies, which met the definition of a prohibited subsidy, within WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  the meaning of Article 3 of the Agreement on Su bsidies and Countervailing Measures, and did not 
seek transitions to provide for the elimination of all such measures.  He further stated that Afghanistan would not introduce such prohibited subsidies in the future, and would apply export 
promotion measures in conformity with WTO requ irements.  The representative of Afghanistan 
further confirmed that as from the date of accession Afghanistan's laws would administer any 
subsidy programmes provided by his Government in conformity with the Agreement on Subsidies 
and Countervailing Measures and that all necessary information on notifiable programmes would 
be notified to the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures according to Article 25 of 
the Agreement upon entry into force of Afghanis tan's Protocol of Accession.  The Working Party 
took note of these commitments.] 
- Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification 
142.  The representative of Afghanistan said that the Afghan National Standardization Authority 
(ANSA), the regulating body, was developing technical regulations (TRs) and standards on 
construction materials, petroleum and gas, medicines and metrology with the intention of avoiding 
the creation of unnecessary barriers to trade.  AN SA was reporting only to the Supreme Council of 
Standards, which was the highest decision-making au thority on standardization.  Article 25 of the 
Draft Law on Standards and Technical Regulations stipulated the composition of the Supreme 
Council of Standards while Article 26 laid out its duties and authorities. 
143.  According to Article 27 of the Draft Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, ANSA was 
responsible for implementation of a unified policy in the field of standardization, technical 
regulations, metrology and conformity assessmen t, ensuring transparency and consistency of 
actions of standardization works.  ANSA was not presently involved in setting any food safety 
standards as they were set out by the Ministry of  Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL), the 
General Directorate of Animal Health and the Directorate for Plant Quarantine, and the Ministry of 
Public Health (processed food and medicine).  The MAIL and the MPH were however members of 
the technical committee established by the ANSA for developing quality standards for food, 
cosmetics, medicines, and medical equipment.  The General Directorate of Food Security and 
Quality Control under the MAIL was committed to the food quality standards set by the ANSA.   
144.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan relied on international standards 
for its technical requirements.  The ANSA was currently a Correspondent Member of the 
International Standards Organization (ISO) and an Affiliate Member of the International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).  The representative of Afghanistan said that initially, 
Afghanistan had adopted three national standards de aling with gasoline, diesel, and kerosene that 
were based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards.  In early 2011, 
the Supreme Council of Standards was established on  the basis of the Afghan National Standards 
Law dated 19 September 2010.  Since then, 51 national standards, developed by nine Technical 
Committees were adopted.  No technical regulations had been developed or adopted under this 
Law.  He further noted that Afghanistan had developed a draft Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, which covered more extensively tec hnical regulations in accordance with the WTO WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  Once adopted, this Law would replace the Afghan 
National Standards Law of 2010.  
145.  For the import of petroleum products and iron/steel products, the ANSA carried out 
laboratory analysis at the entry point and provided quality certificates based on the American 
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards.  The ANSA conducted laboratory testing of 
petroleum products at the border to check conformity with quality standards and stamp import 
documents.  As for iron/steel products, samples were sent for testing at the laboratories of the 
Ministry of Public Works or the Engineering Faculty at Kabul University. 
146.  Asked to identify the relevant publications for proposed standards and technical regulations, 
the representative of Afghanistan replied that the ANSA would be issuing a new magazine and 
would be establishing a website.  He noted that ANSA would only publish draft national standards, 
which deviated from international standards, for comments prior to their finalization.  ANSA's 
Technical Committees had thus far been focusing on adopting international standards in their 
entirety.  The ANSA was currently issuing a quarterly magazine (National Standard Magazine) 
where ANSA published a catalogue of recently-approv ed standards.  The ANSA intended to expand 
this magazine to cover planned and draft national standards in the future.  He further noted that 
draft national standards would also be published for comments on the recently-established website 
(www.ansa.gov.af).  
147.  In reply to a question concerning technical regulations, the representative of Afghanistan 
stated that Afghanistan intended to issue its own TRs, which could be based, when appropriate, on TRs of other countries in case international standards did not exist or were deemed inappropriate 
or ineffective.  In addition, Afghanistan could also adopt TRs of other countries as equivalent to 
national technical regulations.  Asked as to how conformity assessments would be carried out, he 
said that Afghanistan was in the process of establishing a conformity assessment system whereby 
Afghanistan would recognize certificates issued by conformity assessment bodies, which could be 
Afghan or foreign entities, accredited by international or recognized regional accreditation bodies. 
148.  Afghanistan would develop criteria for meeting equivalency requirements at a later stage 
through implementing regulations.  Supplier's (manufacturer's) declaration would be accepted as 
provided in Article 18(1) of the Draft Law on St andards and Technical Regulations.  Conformity 
assessment results of internationally recogniz ed conformity assessment bodies (including 
Underwriters Laboratories) would be accepted as long as these conformity assessment bodies were 
accredited by bodies recognized in Afghanistan.  Once approved, Afghanistan would publish the list 
of recognized accreditation bodies in Afghanistan.  This would certainly include ILAC affiliated 
bodies.  The representative of Afghanistan said th at Afghanistan would be seeking transition period 
for the implementation of certain provisions of the Draft Law on Standards and Technical 
Regulations.  He stated that the following aspects of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to 
Trade were challenging for Afghanistan:  equivalency of foreign technical regulations; and, 
equivalency of results of conformity assessment procedures.  An Action Plan for the 
implementation of these provisions was provided in Table 13.  These transitions, once agreed WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  upon, with Working Party Members, will be included in a transitional article in the Draft Law on 
Standards and Technical Regulations. 
149.  In response to a Member's question, the representative of Afghanistan noted that ANSA 
would use the WTO TBT Code of Good Practice in the development of its national standards and 
that, as required by the Code of Good Practice , Afghanistan would publish a notice for all draft 
standards for comment prior to their finalization and make them available to interested persons 
upon request.  He said that ANSA was the only body in Afghanistan, i.e. there were no local and 
regional government and non-government bodi es, which adopted standards.  Asked about 
adopting international and regional standards, he noted that ANSA was focusing on the adoption of 
ISO, IEC, and ASTM, and Codex Alimentarius st andards.  In the future, ANSA could consider 
regional standards developed by the South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) and other regional standardization bodies in which it was a member or seeking membership.  ANSA 
was a member of Regional Institute for Standa rds, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and 
Metrology (RISCAM), which operated under Economic  Cooperation Organization (ECO).  ANSA also 
applied for membership in Standard and Metrology Institute of Islamic Countries (SMIIC), which 
operated under Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC).  
150.  He also confirmed that any standards, technical regulations, or conformity assessment 
procedures would be applied on a non-discriminatory basis on imported goods. 
151.  The Draft Law on Standards and Technical Regulations was expected to be adopted during 
second half of 2013/first half of 2014.  In response to a Member's question, the representative of Afghanistan stated that, as provided for in Arti cles 10.1 and 10.3 of the WTO TBT Agreement, a 
TBT Enquiry Point had been established at ANSA and that enquiries could be addressed to the 
following:   
 Shahperay Nasseri 
 Afghan National Standards Authority (ANSA)  Industrial Park Area, Kabul-Jalalabad Road, Kabul, Afghanistan  
 P.O. Box No: 51 72 
  Tel. No.: +93 (0) 773139810 
 Email: shahperayn@yahoo.com 
He further noted that the ANSA had established a website (www.ansa.gov.af).  Materials for the 
website were being finalized and would be uploaded in the near future.   
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures 
152.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that the Afghan National Standardization Authority 
(ANSA) did not have any role in the area of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  The Ministry for 
Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) was responsible for veterinary/animal health and phytosanitary/plant health measures and the following legislation was in place:  the Law on 
Veterinary Services of 2000; the Law on Plant Qu arantine of 3 October 1996; and the Regulations 
on the Quarantine of Plants of 23 October 1996.  The Ministry of Public Health was also responsible WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  for sanitary measures.  He noted that Afghanista n however did not have a law on food safety.  
The representative of Afghanistan stated that drafting of additional legislation to establish framework laws in line with the WTO SPS Agreement, i.e. the Law on Food Safety, the Law on 
Plant Protection and Quarantine and the Law on An imal Health and Veterinary Services, had been 
completed at the ministerial level.  Once adopted, these new laws would replace the existing laws 
on veterinary services and plant quarantine. 
153.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that SPS measures were implemented and 
enforced throughout the country.  The Directorate for Plant Quarantine had nine official quarantine 
stations in Afghanistan servicing all regions of the country.  The actions of quarantine inspectors 
were based on quarantine legislation (the Law on Plant Quarantine of 3 October 1996 and the 
Regulations on the Quarantine of Plants of 23 Oc tober 1996) in force at the national level which 
provided that all plant products which were export ed or imported needed to be free of plant pest 
and disease.  Similarly, the General Directorate of Animal Health had nine regional stations, which 
implemented national legislation to prevent animal  disease.  The representative of Afghanistan 
noted that border control for the movement of animals to and from Pakistan and the import of 
products of animal origin was almost impossible to enforce due to poor security situation in many 
border areas.  Informal trade in live sheep was also taking place in the northwest and southwest of 
the country.  
154.  He noted that Afghanistan had been a member of Codex Alimentarius since 
September 2005.  It had been a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) since 1988.  As regards Afghanistan's membership in the International Plant Protection Convention 
(IPPC), its application was submitted to the FAO by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 2012. 
155.  He said that Afghanistan would use, as the basis for its SPS regulations, the standards, 
recommendations, and guidelines of Codex, OIE, an d the IPPC.  The representative of Afghanistan 
stated that, in the future, in cases where Afghan istan needed higher protection of human, animal 
or plant health and life, a science-based risk assessment would be conducted in accordance with 
the principles of the WTO SPS Agreement an d guidelines of Codex, OIE and the IPPC. 
156.  The representative of Afghanistan further noted that many of Afghanistan's recent 
SPS measures were based on international standa rds, guidelines, and recommendations from the 
OIE and the IPPC.  Few measures were based on Codex Alimentarius.  The representative of 
Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan would conduct an assessment to identify those measures that were not in line with the standards, guidelines, and recommendations of the IPPC, Codex 
Alimentarius, the OIE and develop action plans for harmonization.  He noted that Afghanistan did 
not currently have in place procedures, technical capacity or equipment to carry out science-based 
risk assessment in accordance with the WTO SPS Agreement and guidelines of Codex, OIE and the 
IPPC.  Afghanistan intended to complete, in 2013, th e process of identification of measures not in 
line with international standards, guidelines an d recommendations from the OIE and the IPPC and 
develop an Action Plan.  He further stated that, as a landlocked Least-developed country, 
Afghanistan will need until the end of 2017 to  implement all commitments under the WTO SPS WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Agreement.  An Action Plan for the implementati on of the Agreement was provided in Table 14.  
Significant capacity building and technical assistan ce will be required from WTO Members to carry 
out this work.  In the area of plant health, there was a need to renovate and modernize all 
facilities (including laboratories) and properly equip them and to develop sound testing 
methodologies.  As regards animal health, the priority areas included disease notification 
(including listing of diseases) and reporting, animal health surveillance, the regulation of import 
and export of live animals and prod ucts of animal origin, veterinary diagnostic laboratory services, 
and food safety.  The main challenge for Afghanistan to fully comply with OIE requirements was 
rebuilding veterinary capacity after decades of conflict, especially in the areas of disease 
surveillance and laboratory diagnostic capacity.  
157.  In response to questions from Members, the representative of Afghanistan confirmed that 
the Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) was in charge of developing, 
implementing and enforcing veterinary and phyt osanitary measures.  It was responsible for 
(i) ensuring that veterinary and phytosanitary measures were based on a science-based risk 
assessment; and (ii) conducting inspection and testing related to veterinary and phytosanitary 
measures.  For the import of non-processed agricultural products (except live animals and live 
plants), agrochemicals and chemical fertilizers, the General Directorate of Food Security and 
Quality Control under the MAIL carried out quality examination (mostly physical inspection) at the 
border and examined the quality certificate issued by the exporting country (mandatory 
requirement to import) and provided a certificate to release the goods.  
158.  The representative confirmed that the MAIL was responsible for issuing the following 
certificates which were mandatory for export of respective products:  (i) phytosanitary certificate 
for export of plants and plant products.  This wa s issued by the Directorate for Plant Quarantine 
under the MAIL; and, (ii) quality permit for export of all non-processed agricultural food products 
(except live animals and live plants).  The General Directorate of Food Security and Quality Control 
under the MAIL issued this permit.  He noted that  a quality certificate for export of fresh fruits, 
dried fruits, and vegetables, issued by the Af ghan Raisin, Fruits and Vegetables Promotion 
Association, was no longer mandatory.  In reply to a specific question, he said that the same 
requirements for veterinary and phytosanitary measures applied for internal market and for the 
products intended to be exported.  The phytosanit ary and veterinary certificates were not however 
issued for domestic market although both domest ic and exported goods were subject to the same 
requirements. 
159.  The Ministry of Public Health was in charge  of developing, implementing, and enforcing 
sanitary measures.  It was responsible for (i) ensuring that sanitary measures were based on a 
science-based risk assessment; and (ii) conducting inspection and testing related to sanitary 
measures.  For the import of processed food prod ucts and drugs, the Ministry of Public Health 
carried out a quality examination at the clearanc e point.  The representative of Afghanistan 
explained that samples would be taken for laboratory testing and quality (safety) certificate would 
be issued.  For pharmaceuticals, Codex Alimentarius would be used as the basis as well as British WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Pharmacopia, US Pharmacopia and European Pharmacopia.  In reply to a specific question on the 
type of physical tests that were performed at la boratory level, the representative of Afghanistan 
said that tests were conducted on samples. The physical tests by the MAIL and the Veterinary 
Public Health Laboratory included: organoleptic examination, appearance, scent, texture, taste and 
sound. The physical tests performed by the Minist ry of Health and the Food and Drug Quality 
Control Laboratory was on the label of materials (visual examination) such as name of product; 
ingredients and amounts; manufactured date; and, expiry date. 
160.  Before importing animal and animal products, importers were required to obtain a 
Conditions Statement signed by the General Directorate of Animal Health under the MAIL.  
For clearance at entry points, the importer had to show the Conditions Statement and provide the 
certificate of origin.  For all animal products, samples were taken and sent for testing at laboratories.  After laboratory results were rece ived (one to two days), permission would be 
provided by the General Directorate of Animal Health to allow circulation of animal products.  
For live animals and animal products, the importer was required to provide veterinary certificate 
issued by the country of exportation.  The OIE standards were used as a basis.   
161.  For importing plant and plant products, the certificate of origin was required but there was 
no need for a Conditions Statement.  The importer was required to provide only the phytosanitary 
certificate issued by the country of exportation.  For all plants and plant products, samples were 
taken for testing by the Directorate for Plant Quarantine.  Test results were usually provided in one 
to two days and permission was provided for circulation of goods.  As regards importation of seeds, a Seeds Import Certificate, issued by the Seeds Directorate at MAIL, was required. 
162.  The General Directorate of Food Security and Quality Control under the MAIL recognized 
certificates of quality issued by other countries. Afghanistan required that certificates had to be 
issued and signed by the official competent author ity of the country of origin.  In 2013, the MAIL 
intended to develop procedures and build capacity of its staff to determine whether or not 
veterinary certificates issued by another country we re not fake.  Technical Assistance in this regard 
would be sought by Afghanistan.  The Afghan Na tional Standardization Authority and the Ministry 
of Public Health did not currently recognize quality certificates issued by other countries.  
163.  For the import of processed food products, international sanitary certificate was required.  
Testing was required before clearance of goods and, as a result, the quality (safety) certificate was 
issued.  Afghanistan followed the limits recommended by Codex Alimentarius and the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF).  The Ministry of Public Health 
conducted microbiological/bacteriological testing only for imports of bottled water.  Such testing 
was not currently conducted on processed food products due to lack of technical capacity, 
resources, and necessary laboratory equipment. However, all equipment for upgrading the 
capacity to conduct microbiological/bacteriological testing of all processed food products had been 
identified.  A request for Quotation had been prep ared for bidding the process of procuring this 
equipment.  New staff had also been recruited and undergone formal training, in-country as well 
as abroad.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that Afghanistan would need technical WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  assistance to develop the capacity of the new staff and to develop and adopt new testing methods 
related to processed food.  
164.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed th at currently, there was no website providing 
information regarding Afghanistan's health, plant health, sanitary and food safety measures.  
He said that Afghanistan had established an SPS Enquiry and Notification Point (ENP) under the 
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) General Directorate of Policy and Planning.  
Two persons had been designated to handle both  enquiries and notifications, which could be 
addressed to the following:  
Mr. Abdul Munir 
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestocks (MAIL) 
Planning and Policy Department Building 
Kabul, Afghanistan  
Tel. No.: +93 777 999 950 
Email: Abdul.munir@MAIL.gov.af 
He further stated that the three draft SPS laws (the Draft Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine, 
the Draft Law on Food, and the Draft Law on Animal Health and Public Health) called for the 
establishment of the SPS ENP.  These drafts fo llowed closely the provisions of the WTO SPS 
Agreement.  Three contact points would be designated to regularly interact with the staff of the 
SPS ENP and provide, when needed, required information for notification and replies to enquiries:  (i) Contact Point at the General Directorate for Animal Health at MAIL, responsible for veterinary 
measures; (ii) Contact Point at the Directorate for Plant Quarantine at MAIL, responsible for 
phytosanitary measures; and (iii) Contact Point at the Ministry of Health, responsible for food 
safety measures.  These Contact Points would submit draft measures at early stage (once initial 
draft is elaborated) to the SPS ENP through a web portal which would be developed for this 
purpose.  A notice of the availability of the pr oposed SPS measure would then be published on the 
National SPS ENP website and the measure would be notified to the WTO through the SPS ENP no 
less than 60 days before finalizing the draft SPS measure.  He said that the ENP would be formally 
established once the draft SPS laws, mentioned ab ove, were adopted, during second half of 
2013/first half of 2014.  Given the need for developing implementation mechanisms and build 
related capacity, these laws would come into force one year after adoption.  
165.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed that Afghanistan did not have any laws or 
regulations regarding goods produced with biotechnology.  The importation and domestic 
manufacture of goods using biotechnology was not currently regulated in Afghanistan. 
- Trade-related investment measures 
166.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan provided concessions to foreign 
investors in accordance with Article 18 of the Private Investment Law, enacted in December 2005, 
as well as in accordance with the Income Tax Law of 2009 and the Customs Law of 2005.  
The Hydrocarbons Law of 2009 provided that if Afghan goods and services were similar and 
equivalent in quality, quantity, and price to imported foreign goods and services, the contractor WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  would be obliged to purchase and procure Afghan  goods and services.  Under the current rules, 
trade performance was not set as a condition for investment.  In reply to a specific question if Afghanistan was intending to eliminate this provision under the Hydrocarbons Law, the 
representative of Afghanistan said that discussion  were being held among relevant ministries and 
government agencies.  
- Free zones, special economic areas 
167.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that there were currently no free economic zones 
in Afghanistan.  In addition, there were current ly no duty free zones, free warehouses, or free 
shops in Afghanistan where goods were processed.  However, the Reconstruction Opportunity 
Zones (ROZ) programme, an initiative of the Governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the 
United States, was currently under consideration.  This programme would provide duty free access 
to final products processed in specified economic  zones in designated areas of both Afghanistan 
and Pakistan.   
- Government procurement 
168.  The representative of Afghanistan said that the Procurement Monitoring Office, Department 
of Fiscal Policy of the Ministry of Finance, administered government procurement policy and 
practices nationally.  The Public Procuremen t Law (PPL) enacted in October 2005 governed 
government procurement.  According to the PPL, the Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) was 
established in the Ministry of Finance in August 2006.  The PPU issued Rules of Procedures in 2007 
including standard bidding documents for goods and standard request for quotations for goods 
and works.  Since 2005, the PPL was amende d twice through President Order No. 59 of 
21 July 2008 and President Order No. 147 of 18 Janua ry 2009.  The representative of Afghanistan 
said that Afghanistan might consider negotiating accession to the Agreement on Government 
Procurement, after accession to the WTO. 
169.  In response to a specific question, the representative of Afghanistan said that Article 7 of 
the PPL stipulated that procuring entities were obliged to procure goods, works or services 
produced/furnished domestically in accordance with the bidding documents, provided that the 
price of the domestic procurement was not higher than the imported procurement by a percentage 
set in the procedures (Article 7(1)).  In comparing the bids of bidders who did not have a resident 
representative in Afghanistan, or who were not subj ect to Afghanistan taxes, with the bids of those 
that had a resident representative or were subject to Afghanistan taxes, the bid prices of the first 
category would be increased by the percentage set in the procedure (Article 7(2)).  
The representative of Afghanistan stated that the PPL did not refer to a distinction between 
procurement of goods for government consumption and purchases for state needs that could ultimately compete in the private market.   
170.  All types of public procurement, i.e. procurem ent of goods, works and services were covered 
by the PPL (including procurement of infrastruc ture and award of concessions) and there were 
thresholds prescribed for the Award Authority.  Details of the Award Authority in approving WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  contracts were provided in Table 13.  The Award Authority could partially or in full delegate the 
powers to secondary units, Deputy Ministers and Directors of the relevant departments.  Where the monetary value of supply and procurement of goods, works and services exceeded the 
thresholds limits as provided in Table 13, the co ntracts were approved by the Special Procurement 
Commission consisting of the Minister of Finance as Chairman of the Commission and the Minister 
of Justice and the Minister of Economy as members. 
171.  In response to a query regarding specific provisions on review bodies and remedies, the 
representative of Afghanistan noted that as per Article 71 of the Public Procurement Law of 2008, 
a bidder that had suffered damage due to the violation of the law was entitled to seek review by 
submitting a written application for review identifying the specific decision, act, or failure to act 
alleged to violate the procurement legislation.  As per Article 72, the Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) would establish an administrative review committee composed of experts for the purposes of 
conducting administrative review of applications and related appeals and the detailed appeal and 
review procedures would be as prescribed by th e PPU.  The Appeal and Review manual had been 
issued officially and the Appeal and Review Committee was operational. 
172.  The PPL contained the following provisions wher e favourable treatment could be provided:  
(i) Article 7 provided margin of price preference in favour of domestic sources; (ii) Article 8 
encouraged policies and practices aimed at fostering participation of small domestic enterprises 
and individuals in procurement; (iii) Article 9 ai med at promoting protection of environment in 
public procurement; and (iv) Article 25 provided the conditions under which international tendering could be held.  The representative of Afghanistan said that all tenders were open for all eligible 
bidders, both foreign and domestic.  Under Article 25 of the PPL, an international tendering would 
be held in the following conditions:  (i) the goods, works or services were not available on 
competitive price terms from at least three bidders in Afghanistan; or (ii) a national tendering 
proceeding had failed to iden tify an acceptable bidder. 
- Transit 
173.  The representative of Afghanistan said that th e transit of goods could be realized by any 
public route and was covered by related provisions of:  (i) the Customs Law; (ii) international and 
domestic transit procedures based on the ASY CUDA++ System; and (iii) the Law on Road 
Transportation and the Freight Forwarding Regulation.  
174.  Afghanistan prohibited trade in transit for prohibited goods (e.g. pork, alcohol).  Afghanistan 
did not restrict trade in transit for any country.  Generally, no escort was required except in special 
cases (e.g. goods with high import duty in Afghanistan and transported in open cargo) and there 
was no escort fee.  Record keeping was being conducted through the ASYCUDA system which was 
intended to cover all entry/exit points in Afghanistan. 
175.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan was a signatory to the Economic 
Cooperation Organization (ECO) Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA) which was 
ratified by Afghanistan in 2003.  All ECO member s, except Uzbekistan were signatories of the WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  TTFA.  The objectives of the TTFA were:  (i) facili tation of movement of goods and passengers to 
ensure the safety of goods and passengers and to avoid unnecessary delays during the transit traffic; (ii) cooperation and coordination of the efforts to avoid the incidence of customs fraud and 
tax evasion; and (iii) harmonization of necessary administrative affairs dealing with transit traffic.  
The Contracting Parties, which were also parties to the Customs Convention on the International 
Transportation of Goods under the TIR Conventi on 1975, would apply the provisions of that 
Convention amongst themselves.   
176.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan had also signed transit 
agreements with Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Taji kistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.  A new Transit 
Trade Agreement was signed in 2010 with Paki stan which replaced the 1965 Agreement.  
Afghanistan had also signed an agreement with Turkey on international road transport which contained transit provisions.  These agreements would grant all goods of the contracting parties 
the right of freedom of transit within territory of the countries with no restrictions. 
177.  The Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) came into force on 
12 June 2011.  The purpose of the APTTA was to facilitate the movement of goods between and 
through their respective territories and to provide all possible facilities to transit traffic in 
accordance with the Agreement.  The main prov isions of the Agreement included freedom of 
transit through the territory of each contracting pa rty, via the pre-settled routes most convenient 
for international transit, for traffic in transit to or from the territory of other contracting party; 
facilitation of clearance procedures with a view to ensuring the clearance of transit traffic without delay; establishment of technical requirements fo r admittance of road vehicles and professional 
competence for transport operators to be eligible for transit operations as well as corresponding 
certification, licensing requirements and mutual recognition obligations; national treatment for 
transport operators with respect to rules and procedures affecting transit traffic and any charges, 
expenses, or financial obligations incurred with regard to the means of transport and labour used 
for transit operation.  No customs duties and taxes would be levied on goods in transit and means 
of transit transport regardless of their destinatio n and purpose.  Such transit would need to be 
covered by:  (i) securities guaranteeing payment of import duties and import taxes for goods, if 
the goods did not cross the territory of the host  country; and, (ii) through a bank guarantee 
(or revolving bank guarantee, insurance bond or Carnet-de-Passage when operational) for 
transport vehicles, if the vehicle covered by temporary admission papers was not re-exported within the prescribed time limits.  The APPTA also envisaged installation of vehicle tracking 
systems in both countries for purposes of monitoring transit traffic and could set up a quota 
system when issuing transit permits with respect to ensuring a fair share of traffic.   
178.  The representative of Afghanistan said that, notwithstanding current Agreements on transit 
between Afghanistan and other countries, Afghanistan would provide transit conditions as 
established under Article V of the GATT 1994 to WTO Members on an MFN basis.   WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  - Agricultural policies 
179.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that all import procedures described in Section on 
Policies Affecting Trade in Goods applied equally to agricultural imports.  No other border 
measures were applied to agricultural goods ot her than sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  
180.  At present, there was no special export regi me applicable to agricultural goods and no 
export subsidy measures were currently in place.  The representative of Afghanistan confirmed 
that there were no export prohibitions or restrictions for agriculture products and no export credits other than those available from commercial banks.  There was also no system of export credit 
guarantees or relevant insurance programmes for agricultural goods.  
181.  Asked as to whether Afghanistan would co mmit not to use export subsidies, the 
representative of Afghanistan stated that his Government would make a decision on such critical 
commitment at a later stage in the accession process. 
182.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that the Ministry of Energy and Power supplied 
water for agricultural purposes free of charge.  
183.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that due to the central role of agriculture in 
determining national welfare, the Afghan Govern ment pursued a strategy designed to increase 
food production and enhance food security.  This strategy included the following domestic support 
measures:  (i) provision of infrastructure services including electricity, roads and water reticulation and management; (ii) provision of extension services; (iii) research; and (iv) local level 
programmes aimed at increasing food production, the stabilization of shifting cultivation (slash and 
burn), and sustainable community based resource  management and diversification of farming 
systems.  Many of these services were under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, 
Irrigation and Livestock and the Ministry of  Rehabilitation and Rural Development.  
These programmes were often carried out in conjunction with foreign aid and other donor projects.  
The representative of Afghanistan added that most of these programmes were of the types 
classified as Green Box domestic support under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.  
V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME 
- GENERAL 
- Industrial property protection 
184.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that the Government was firmly committed to 
finalizing an intellectual property protection regime, which was compliant with the WTO Agreement 
on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (WTO TRIPS Agreement) as soon as 
possible.  The copyright and related rights regime  of Afghanistan was currently governed by the 
Law on Supporting the Rights of Authors, Composers, Artists and Researchers (Copyright Law) 
which was enforced from 21 July 2008.  The patent regime was governed by the Law on WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Supporting the Rights of Inventors and Discoverers of 31 April 2009 (Patents Law).  The basis for 
the trademarks regime was the Law on Trade Marks Registration of 1 September 2009.   
185.  Afghanistan was in the process of drafting additi onal legislation on Geographical Indications, 
on Industrial Designs, on Trade Secrets, on Topography of Integrated Circuits, on Unfair 
Competition, on Plant Variety Protection, and draft Order on Intellectual Property Border 
Enforcement which would be completed by the end of 2012.  A draft regulation on Optical Disks 
had been finalized and shared with Working Party Member in April 2013.    
- Responsible agencies for policy formulation and implementation 
186.  In March 2010, an Intellectual Property Office (IPO) was established at the Ministry of 
Commerce and Industries (MoCI), with responsibilities for patents, trademarks, industrial designs, 
geographical indications, and genetic resources.  Also, a Copyright Directorate dealing with 
copyright and related rights was established at the Ministry of Information and Culture.  
- Participation in international intellectual property agreements  
187.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghanistan became a Member of the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in September 2005.  The process to join the Berne and 
Paris Conventions had also been initiated.   
- Application of national and MFN treatment to foreign nationals 
188.  The representative of Afghanistan stated th at the Copyright Law currently observed MFN 
principles, and that the pending amendments to Arti cle 47 of that Law would define applicability in 
accord with the Berne Convention, providing protection on a national treatment basis.  He added 
that the Patents Law made no distinction among fo reign patent applicants or right holders based 
on nationality, but Article 31(1) of that Law was un der examination to ensure that it complied with 
national treatment principles.  Article 5 of the La w on Trade Marks Registration covered aspects of 
intellectual property rights in Afghanistan which entitled foreign nationals engaged in lawful 
production, commercial and service activities to register a trademark on the same basis as Afghan 
nationals.  Further, pending draft laws on geograph ical indications, integrated circuits, undisclosed 
information, and industrial designs would observe national and MFN treatment principles.  He also 
said that Afghanistan was aware of the importance  of granting national and most-favoured-nation 
treatment to foreign nationals and those principles would be honoured once Afghanistan became 
bound by the WTO TRIPS Agreement. 
- Fees and taxes 
189.  The representative of Afghanistan said that th e fees to be charged for the protection of 
intellectual property rights by the new Intellectual Property Office had not yet been set.  He noted 
that once established, the fees would not discr iminate between foreign and national persons.  
He undertook to provide the Working Party with the relevant fee schedule when available.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  190.  In response to a specific question from a Member that trademark applicants from foreign 
companies were charged different and possibly hi gher fees, the representative of Afghanistan 
stated that, pursuant to the Law on Trade Marks Registration of 1 September 2009, a new 
non-discriminatory fee structure was being elaborated for trademark applicants.  Once established, 
equal and non-discriminatory fees would apply to foreign and national persons.  
- SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS OF PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCEDURES FOR THE 
ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
- Copyright and related rights 
191.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that in light of several suggestions by Members, 
draft amendments to the Copyright Law had been  prepared to ensure compliance with the 
WTO TRIPS Agreement, including applicable provisions of the Berne and Rome Conventions.  
He confirmed that Article 1 of the Copyright La w would be amended to include broadcasters and 
related rights.  
192.  The representative of Afghanistan said the above-mentioned Law would also include 
Members' comments regarding definitions of:  Work; Audiovisual work; Collective work; Joint 
work; Excerption (Derivative) work; Publication; Broadcasting; Reprint of work (Reproduction); 
Fixed work (Fixation); Anonymous work; Classic work (Compilation); Architectural work; 
Literary work; Photography, painting and st atutory works; Owner; Exhibition of work; 
Public performances; Performer of the work; Mo tion pictures; Broadcasting organizations; 
Dissemination of the work (Distribution); and Transfer of copyright ownership. 
193.  Asked about Cession or Transfer of Rights (A rticle 12), the representative of Afghanistan 
confirmed that it meant that once an author tran sferred or surrendered his/her economic right(s) 
to another person, he/she could not stop the transferee from using the transferred rights.  
However, as the author, he/she could withdraw pu blication and/or broadcasting of the work, and 
could also make changes to the work.  Withdraw ing and/or making changes to the work could 
cause some losses to the transferee; accordingly, after any changes or withdrawal, the author was 
obliged to appropriately compensate the transferee. 
194.  In reply to a specific question, the representati ve of Afghanistan stated that Article 16 of the 
Copyright Law stipulated copyright protection terms, and was undergoing amendment to refine 
compliance with the Berne Convention and the WTO TRIPS Agreement.  He confirmed that 
Article 12(5) did not curtail, extend, or in any way affect those copyright terms and it merely 
governed the ownership of economic rights under the described set of circumstances, during the 
period between the death of an author and the normal expiration of economic rights.  According to 
the draft amendments to Article 16, the first date of lawful publication would be the date for the 
protection timeline unless the author, when repr oducing the work, made fundamental changes in 
the work in way that resulted into a new work.  If the work consisted of several components or 
was published in different phases, the timeline for the protection would be accounted for each 
component as a separate work.  Where the term of protection under Article 16 of the Law was WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  calculated on a basis other than the life of a natural person, the protection term would be 
calculated from the end of the calendar year of authorised publication, or, if there was no authorised publication within 50 years from the ma king of the work, from the end of the calendar 
year of the creation of the work. 
195.  The representative of Afghanistan said that amendments were being developed that would 
provide for the right of reproduction for literary and artistic works in line with Article 9(1) and (3) 
of the Berne Convention.  He also stated that th e draft amendments to Article 9 of the Copyright 
Law would provide for complete economic rights to the extent required under Articles 2, 8, 9, 11, 
11bis, 11ter, 12, and 14 of the Berne Convention, an d Article 11 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, 
including commercial rental rights in protected motion pictures and computer programs.  
The representative of Afghanistan said that the amended Article 10 of the Copyright Law regarding 
status of enjoying economical rights would inco rporate requirements of Articles 3 and 4 of the 
Berne Convention, Article 1(3) of the WTO TRIPS Agreement and Articles 4, 5 and 6 of the Rome 
Convention. 
196.  Regarding Article 14 of the Copyright Law concerning the publication of the work after 
death, the representative of Afghanistan said that this provision fell within the three-step test of 
Article 13 the WTO TRIPS Agreement.  He stated that the provision applied to works not published 
by the inheritors or successors of an author.  It was confined to certain special cases, namely, 
cases where inheritors or successors did not publish a work, which the Ministry of Information and 
Culture specifically deemed in the interest of the public.  The representative of Afghanistan said that the provision did not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work, in that it only operated 
when the beneficiaries declined to publish the work both before and for a year following the 
notification by the Ministry.  In other words, the Ministry's publication would not displace demand 
for copies published by the beneficiaries.  He al so stated that the provision did not unreasonably 
prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder(s) in that the provision required both proper 
notice and reasonable compensation for the beneficiaries. 
- Trademarks, including service marks 
197.  A Member noted that under Article 3(1) of the Law on Trade Marks Registration, the 
definition of a trademark provided that it was a mark/sign or mixture of marks which could 
distinguish goods and services from other goods and services.  In response, the representative of 
Afghanistan stated that under pending amendmen ts to Article 3 of the Law on Trade Marks 
Registration, trademarks would be defined in close alignment with Article 15(1) of the 
WTO TRIPS Agreement.  
198.  In reply to a question concerning well-know n marks, the representative of Afghanistan 
stated that under pending amendments to Article 8, marks determined to be well-known in 
Afghanistan for identical or similar goods would not be used or registered as trademarks, and 
further, that protection for such marks in line with Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention and 
Article 16 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement would also be incorporated.  He further added that WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  amendments to Article 9 of the trademark law woul d closely track the language in Article 16(3) of 
the TRIPS Agreement.  
199.  With regard to priority and exclusivity in the relationship between trademarks and 
geographical indications, the representative of Af ghanistan stated that Article 24 of the draft Law 
on Geographical Indications would provide that no thing would prejudice rights in trademarks that 
have been applied for or registered in good faith, or acquired through use in good faith, under the 
Law on Trade Marks Registration.  Further, Articl e 8(8) of the Law on Trade Marks Registration 
prohibited use or registration as trademarks of geographical names, where the use thereof could 
cause confusion as to the origin or source of the goods, products or services. 
- Geographical indications, including appellations of origin 
200.  The representative of Afghanistan said that currently Afghanistan had no law on 
geographical indications, but had prepared a complete draft law in this area, which would be 
submitted to the Ministry of Justice in 2012 for further submission to the National Assembly.  
The law would cover all areas required under the WTO TRIPS Agreement, as well as registration 
requirements and procedures, priority, opposi tion, exclusive rights, terms of protection, 
termination, and the relationship with trademarks.  
- Industrial designs 
201.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that  Afghanistan did not, at present, provide 
protection for industrial designs.  A new law on industrial designs had been drafted and submitted 
to the Ministry of Justice in 2012 for further submission to the National Assembly.  
- Patents 
202.  The representative of Afghanistan stated th at draft amendments to the Patents Law in 
accordance with the WTO TRIPS Agreement, to cover such issues as patentability, exclusive rights, 
compulsory licensing, and cancellation, had been developed.  They were submitted to the Ministry 
of Justice in 2012 for further submission to the National Assembly.  Chapter 2 of the draft 
amendments to the Patents law would provide protection so that:  (i) any invention patented 
would be new, involve an inventive step and would be industrially applicable; and (ii) any product 
for use in any of the methods required to achieve novelty, inventive step and industrial 
applicability could be considered as a patentable invention.  He added that a current exclusion for 
drug formulae under Article 7 of the Law would be deleted under pending amendments.  
Patentability exceptions for public order, morality, danger to life, health, or the environment were 
also being amended for compliance with Article 27(2) of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. 
203.  Asked for examples of discoveries that could be  patented, the representative of Afghanistan 
stated that amended Article 6(3) limited patent protection to inventions or discoveries, whether 
products or processes, in all fields of technology, which were new, involve an inventive step and 
were capable of industrial application.  Thus, only discoveries, which met the criteria of 
patentability in Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreemen t, could be the subject matter of a patent.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  A mere observation or identification of a fact or phenomenon, which did not meet those criteria, 
could not be patentable in Afghanistan.  
- Plant variety protection 
204.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that no protection was currently provided and that 
legislation on plant variety protection was expected to be drafted in 2012. 
- Layout designs of integrated circuits 
205.  The representative of Afghanistan said that at present, there was no legal protection for the 
layout designs of integrated circuits.  He noted that drafting of the Law on Topography of 
Integrated Circuits would be completed in 2012.   
- Requirements on undisclosed information,  including trade secrets and test data 
206.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that currently no protection was provided but the 
draft Law on Trade Secrets, had been prepared an d would be submitted to the Ministry of Justice 
in June 2013 for further submission to the National Assembly. 
- ENFORCEMENT 
- Civil judicial procedures and remedies 207.  The representative of Afghanistan said that general civil procedures in line with Articles 42, 
43 and 46 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement were set ou t in the Civil Procedure Code, including draft 
amendments.  Specific procedures with regard to  copyright and trademark enforcement, such as 
injunctions, damages, and other remedies, were contained in the Copyright Law and the Law on 
Trade Marks Registration, respectively, as supplemented by pending new amendments.  He said 
that the Patent Law contained no enforcement section, but pending amendments set a foundation 
for the adoption of appropriate enforcement measur es related to patents.  He added that draft 
legislation in other areas of intellectual property protection contained specific civil judicial 
procedures and remedies where appropriate, and worked with more generally-applicable 
enforcement procedures in the Civil Procedure Code as needed. 
208.  Asked about the inclusion in the draft amendments to the Customs Law of provisions in 
Articles 51 to 60 of the TRIPS Agreement, he said that a Draft Order on Intellectual Property 
Border Enforcement, based on Articles 51-60 of  the TRIPS Agreement requirements and the World 
Customs Organization model legislation, had been de veloped.  It had been tailored to the existing 
Customs Law provisions on border enforcement an d to the existing capabilities of the local 
Customs service and judiciary.  He undertook to provide a copy of the Draft Order for review by 
the Working Party. 
- Provisional measures 
209.  The representative of Afghanistan said that provisional measures were currently not applied 
but that detailed provisions governing the application of provisional measures for all areas of WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  intellectual property rights had been developed for incorporation in the Civil Procedure Code.  
He explained that substantive intellectual property laws were being amended to include proper links to these provisions, as applicable. 
- Administrative procedures and remedies 
210.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that administrative procedures referenced in 
Article 49 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement were not applicable to enforcement procedures under 
existing or draft intellectual property laws.  
- Special border measures 
211.  The representative of Afghanistan said that at present, no special border measures existed.  
However, he stated that draft legislation on border  enforcement of intellectual property rights was 
being developed based on Afghanistan's existing Customs Law provisions, WTO TRIPS Agreement 
requirements, World Customs Organization models, and best practices noted in comparable 
jurisdictions. 
- Criminal procedures 
212.  The representative of Afghanistan said that to  prevent and address violations in accordance 
with Article 61 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, draf t amendments to Article 31 of the Copyright Law 
had been prepared.  The new provision would stipul ate that persons found guilty of wilful copyright 
piracy on a commercial scale in Afghanistan would be sentenced to at least one but no more than 
three years' imprisonment, and would be fined an amount of at least AF 50,000 but not more than 
AF 100,000.  In both cases, the adjudication court could order seizure, forfeiture and destruction 
of infringing goods, and of any materials or implements used to commit the violation.  Sanctions imposed would have to be sufficient under the circumstances to provide a deterrent to 
future violations. 
213.  Asked to explain "any other punishments" referred to in the copyright and trademark 
legislation, he said that neither the amended Copyright Law nor the Trademark Law made such a 
reference although Article 33 of the Trademark La w provided for confiscation, disgorgement of 
profits, and closure of facilities used to commit violations.  He noted that these remedies were 
specific rather than open-ended. 
214.  In reply to a Member's comment that civil procedures and remedies for patent infringements 
were insufficient, the representative of Afghanis tan said that unlike the Copyright and Trademark 
Laws, the existing Patent Law contained no enforcement section.  Civil procedures and remedies in 
the WTO TRIPS Agreement had been included in the existing legislative structure, in order to respect the system, which was familiar to the legal professionals, and to the respective 
implementation bodies.  In the case of the Pate nt Law, amended language in Article 49 accounted 
for the adoption of coordinated procedures, enforcement measures and remedies for 
implementation of the Law.  Responding to a concern that there were too many differences in 
enforcement provisions between the IP laws, he st ated that the individual IP laws and the Civil WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Procedure Code, taken together, provided for the totality of procedures and remedies required 
under the WTO TRIPS Agreement.  He noted that appropriate measures had been developed for inclusion in the Civil Procedure Code and would be adopted during second half of 2013/first half of 
2014.  
215.  The Representative of Afghanistan indicated that as a landlocked least-developed country, 
Afghanistan will need a transition to implement all commitments under the WTO TRIPS agreement.  
Significant capacity building and technical assi stance would be required from WTO Members to 
carry out this work. He confirmed that all intellectual property related laws would be adopted in 
accordance with the legislative action plan (WT/ACC/AFG/9/Rev.[xx]) prior to the end of 2014.
 
For other measures necessary to ensure adequate and proper enforcement, the Representative of 
Afghanistan provided the action plan in Table 16,  to be implemented by the end of 2015. 
VI. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES 
216.  The representative of Afghanistan said that until relatively recently, the public sector was 
the primary supplier of services in Afghanistan, with the role of the private sector highly limited.  
With the Government's commitment to a strategy of economic growth and development based on 
an open, private sector-led market economy, ther e had been a substantial increase in trade in 
services in a number of areas.  The aim of th e Government's policy was to efficiently meet 
consumer needs by ensuring effective compet ition among service providers subject to the 
regulation of services sectors via licensing.  The representative of Afghanistan added that 
regulations related to the provision of services were equally applicable to both domestic and 
foreign providers of services. 
217.  The representative of Afghanistan said that  economic development in the country was 
hampered by the poor state of infrastructure, which limited all types of activities, including 
services.  He said that the growth and development of the services sector was viewed as a priority.  
Foreign investment in services and foreign companies in general were currently leading the 
development of the service sector, especially in the telecommunication, hotel industry, banking, 
construction, media, courier and postal, environmental services and education.  
218.  The representative of Afghanistan provided information based on the Services Sectoral 
Classification list in Annex 7 of document WT/ACC/AFG/4.  The representative of Afghanistan 
confirmed that Afghanistan would conduct in-depth examination of its services-related legislation 
to prepare and share with Members of the Work ing Party the information on policy measures 
affecting trade in services, detailing all current measures related to market access, national 
treatment, and most-favoured-nation treatment. 
219.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that foreign commercial presence was regulated by 
the Private Investment Law and the prevailing commercial laws.  These laws required all foreign 
investors to obtain investment licenses from the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency and 
business licenses from the Business Licensing Directorate of the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industries.  He said that both licenses were obligatory for investors (domestic and foreign) if they WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  engage in investment as well as in business.  According to the existing commercial laws of 
Afghanistan, licenses were required for the conduct of all business activities, including services.  The following ministries and agencies were responsible for issuing licenses within their area of 
responsibility and supervising activities:  Commerc e and Industries; Finance; Justice; Transport; 
Culture, Information and Youth; Telecommunication and Information Technology; Education; 
Higher Education; Mines; Urban Development; Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock; Public Health; 
Public Works; the National Environmental Protection Agency; and the Da Afghanistan Bank. 
220.  The representative of Afghanistan said th at the general policy was to promote open 
competition in all sectors, including for services.  The Afghan Government did not grant any entity 
ownership of, or exclusive or monopolistic rights  to provide services except drinking water and 
electricity distribution.  There were also no limits on the number of service providers, with the exception of water supply.  He said that Afghanistan did not have any safeguard measures relating 
to trade in services.  He added that there were no provisions concerning any form of aid, grant, 
domestic subsidy, and tax incentive or promotion scheme affecting trade in services.   
221.  The representative of Afghanistan said that there were no limitations on the participation of 
foreign capital.  Land ownership was limited to the citizens of Afghanistan as established under the 
Constitution.  Foreign persons conducting legal activities in Afghanistan could lease land from the 
State for up to 90 years (which could be extended).  
222.  The representative of Afghanistan said that there were limitations of the total value of 
service transactions or assets with respect to motion pictures, road transport (passenger and freight) and on the total number of natural persons that could be employed in security companies.  
He said that it was expected that priority would be given to Afghan nationals if equally qualified, as 
stipulated in the regulation of employment of foreign citizens in Afghan organizations.  Under the 
Law on Foreigners Employment in Afghanistan of 6 July 2005, foreigners could be employed in 
Afghanistan on the basis of a work permit issued  by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs 
(MoLSA).  Work permits were issued for one year  and were renewable.  To qualify for a work 
permit, foreign citizens had to:  (i) be at least 18 years old; (ii) have not completed retirement age 
provided in the Labour Law, and (iii) have a health certificate from their country of citizenship and 
from the related entities of the Ministry of Public  Health of Afghanistan.  The representative of 
Afghanistan stated that requests for employment  that fell under agreements between the Afghan 
government agencies and foreign countries would be processed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the MoLSA, later renamed as the Minist ry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and 
Disabled (MoLSAMD).  The special recruitment procedures for foreign employees had been 
developed by the MoLSAMD and submitted to the Mi nistry of Justice. According to the Law on 
Foreigners Employment in Afghanistan of 6 July 2005, foreign citizens travelling to Afghanistan for 
employment purposes were required to obtain a residence visa and a business visa.  
223.  In response to a request for details concerning the retirement age, the representative of 
Afghanistan stated that according to the Afghan Labour Law, the retirement age of sixty-five was 
compulsory.  With the consent of the employer, employees could prolong employment for up to WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  five years (on annual basis) after retirement provid ed they had not exceeded a total of 40 years of 
employment.  The extended period carried the same  rights and responsibilities of the employee.  
It applied to all industries and service providers, except scientists working at government 
institution, research and higher education institutions and religious bodies, which were regulated 
b y  o t h e r  l e g i s l a t i o n .   H e  s a i d  t h a t  t h e r e  w e r e  n o  r e s t r i c t i o n s  i n  t h e  A f g h a n  L a b o u r  L a w  t h a t  
prevented retirees from working at any age afte r retirement on a contract basis with Afghan 
companies.  In the case of foreigners, the empl oyer would still have to apply for work permit. 
224.  Asked about the reason as to why foreign citizens were required to have two health 
certificates, from their country of citizenship and fr om the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, 
the representative of Afghanistan said this was because foreign medical institutions were generally 
more developed.  In addition, a medical certificate upon arrival to Afghanistan was required to review the latest health status and to check for certain diseases in case tests for such diseases not 
covered in medical examination of the country of citizenship.  
225.  In response to a specific question concerning the Decree Amending Certain Articles and 
Parts of the Regulation on the Import and Exhibition of Motion Pictures and the Monitoring of 
Cinemas of 5 March 2005, the representative of Afghanistan stated that cinema activities were 
subject to licensing by the Afghan Film Director ate (AFD) under the Ministry of Information and 
Culture.  The AFD could also censor cinema movies and videos and the Ministry of Information and 
Culture was responsible for issuing import permits.   The Ministry of Finance established ticket 
prices for state cinema theatres upon approval from the Minister's Council.  He said that the construction of new cinema theatres could be impl emented after its design was approved by AFD.  
There was an obligation of cinema administrations to show documentary and informative films 
before display of feature films.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that Afghan citizens were 
given priority in import procurements of films by the AFD. 
226.  In order to import a feature film or a programme, the following fees applied:  (i) for 
Pakistani films:  approximately US$5,000; (ii) for Indian films:  approximately US$4,000; (iii) for 
Iranian films:  approximately US$3,000; (iv) for Turkish, Arabic, Western in their original 
language:  approximately US$1,500; (v) for Turkish, Arabic, Western dubbed Farsi language:  
approximately US$1,000; and (vi) films of Soci alist countries:  approximately US$200.  Films 
imported temporarily based on agreement with the AFD to pay certain percentage of profit were 
exempted from above-mentioned fees.  
227.  In response to a specific question regarding the provision of domestic postal services, 
the representative of Afghanistan said that the Afghan Post provided mandatory delivery for the 
following postal items:  (i) letters up to 2 kg; (ii) postcards; (iii) small packets (2 kg); 
(iv) printed paper (7 kg); and (v) parcels (20 kg).   Other services provided by the Afghan Post 
included express mail, registered mail, and courier services (EMS), private P.O. Boxes, selling 
stamps and money transferring services.  Article 37 of the Constitution of Afghanistan stipulated 
the provision of communications services (telecom and postal services) to all users/customers in 
the country.   WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  228.  With respect to courier services, the representati ve of Afghanistan said that the draft Postal 
Law, which had been drafted and submitted to the Mi nistry of Justice, set the terms and conditions 
of entering in the postal market.  Applying the lic ence regime for providing a level playing field for 
all service providers had been stipulated in the draft Law.  In his view, it was possible for all 
service providers of express companies/international couriers to freely carry out domestic and 
international express, logistics and mail services.   
229.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that  the Telecommunication Services Regulation 
Law of 23 January 2006 was enacted and covered amongst other things the following:  
licence issuance, modification, suspension and revocation; licence grant conditions and terms and 
conditions of the licence contents; universal access; interconnection issues; tariffs and their 
approval process; rights of way; numbering plan; maintenance of the historic heritages and establishment of telecom networks; telecom traffic regulation; frequencies issue and frequency 
licenses issuance for use of frequency assignments; fines and penalties; competitive processes; 
significant or dominant power in the market and abuse of the significant power. 
230.  The representative of Afghanistan said that all the Telecom and Internet service provider 
companies used the satellite services for their national and international communications.  
The licence issuing body for satellite services was the Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory 
Authority (ATRA) of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).  
A company seeking to operate in the satellite market of Afghanistan as service provider was 
required to obtain a licence from the ATRA.  To obtain a licence, the applicant needed to submit a business plan to MCIT (addressed to the Minister).   The business plan would be evaluated by the 
ATRA.  Among the factors examined before issuing the licence were past experience, financial 
standing, proposed technology, and operational plan.  Only one licence had been issued as of date. 
231.  The representative of Afghanistan said that so far there was no specific category for the 
issuance of satellite licence.  Afghanistan had recently issued one licence for satellite phone 
services.  Licensees had been also given the right of telecom and internet services provision at the 
local, national and international level, using satellite and wireless switch stations based on licenses 
which had been granted for provision of mobile and internet services. 
232.  The duties and authorities of the Afghanis tan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority 
included among others:  regulating and supervising the activities of operators (telecom service 
providers); supervising compliance by operators with international treaties entered into by Afghanistan in the telecommunications sector; providing advice to Ministry of Communications in 
development of policies; monitoring and controlling compliance with the conditions included in 
licenses and the provisions of the law; assigning radio frequencies and granting permits to 
licensees; issuing, modifying, renewing, suspending  or revoking licenses and permits; responding 
to complaints of users and settling the disputes  between operators, users and other persons, 
including interconnection, access to and quality of service, numbering, privacy, unacceptable 
interference and quality of the networks or servic es of grantees and other services; specifying and 
approving technical standards for telecommunication equipment and devices; preventing operators WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  having significant market power from abusing such power; promoting sustainable competition 
among operators; determining and identifying whet her any person has significant market power; 
prescribing fees payable in connection with the application, issuance, modification, renewal and 
transfer of any licence issued, for the ongoing righ t to hold a licence; prescribing fees payable in 
connection with the importation or use of specific types of telecommunication equipment in 
Afghanistan; prescribing fees, payable in conne ction with the assignment and use of numbers; 
establishing and maintain any registries of operators (telecom service providers) that may be 
required; appraising and investigating any matters necessary to determine violations of the 
provisions of the law; assigning and prescribing fines and receiving from violators for breach of 
any condition of licence or permit, or any person for committing an offence under the law; and 
obliging licensees or holders of permits to compensate damages as a result of a breach of a condition of licence or permit. 
233.  The ATRA, consisting of five persons who were appointed upon the proposal by the Minister 
of Communications and Information Technology an d approved by the President of Afghanistan, 
was established to regulate and supervise mobile companies' activities.  
234.  In response to specific questions regarding financial services, the representative of 
Afghanistan said that following the enactment of the Law on Central Bank and the Law on Banking, 
17 banks had been licensed.  He said that the ai m of the ongoing work in the financial services 
sector was to ensure that the prudential regulatory framework maintained the safety and 
soundness of the financial system in Afghanistan.  In this regard, the Central Bank of Afghanistan had increased its on-site bank examinations to twice a year and had introduced targeted 
examinations of IT systems.  The Central Bank of Afghanistan was also working to introduce 
measures to broaden and deepen access to finance for the poor such as mobile banking, Islamic 
banking and a stock exchange market.  The repres entative of Afghanistan said that the World 
Bank funded "Financial Sector Strengthening Project of Afghanistan" was also enhancing the 
financial system, by establishing collateral registry, credit information bureau and the Afghan 
Institute of Banking and Finance. 
235.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that two new laws, namely the Law on Anti-Money 
Laundering and Proceeds of Crime and the Law on Combating Financing of Terrorism were adopted 
in 2004 to clean up the financial system from the menace of terrorism and crime.  More recently, 
three more laws had been adopted:  the Law on Mortgage of Immovable Property of 27 July 2009; 
the Law on Mortgage of Movable Property of 27 July 2009; and the Law on Transaction Documents 
(Negotiable Instruments) of 24 January 2009.  Pursuant to these laws, regulations and numerous 
internal policies had been enacted by the Supreme Council of the Da Afghanistan Bank to facilitate 
the implementation of these Laws. 
236.  Asked to explain as to whether under Article 5.4 of the Private Investment Law, non-banking 
finance activities and insurance activities were restricted sectors, the representative of Afghanistan 
said that the High Commission on Investment had removed restrictions on the former and that the 
Law on Insurance of 2008 had governed the insurance sector.  He stated that when the Private WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Investment Law would be amended in the future , insurance and non-banking finance activities 
would be deleted from the law. 
237.  In response to a specific question from a Member, the representative of Afghanistan 
confirmed that, under the Law on Regulating Prop erty Dealers of 21 August 1995, licenses for real 
estate services related to private or leased pr operty were reserved exclusively for Afghans. 
Afghanistan will review this in the future.  
VII. TRANSPARENCY 
- Publication of information on trade 
238.  The representative of Afghanistan said that there was no legal requirement or practice for 
publication and comment for domestic laws, regulations, and other measures of general 
application that become legally enforceable.  He further added that common practice had been 
that draft legislation was directly shared with interested parties for comments.  Interested parties 
could also be invited to participate in legal drafting working groups or in public fora 
(e.g. conference/seminars) to discuss draft legislatio n.  Some ministries published draft legislation 
in national newspapers for comment by the general public.  
239.  Some Members stated that lack of legal requirements or practice for publication and 
comment for domestic laws, regulations, and other measures of general application caused 
concern and needed to be addressed by Afghanistan.  Article X of the GATT 1994 required the 
prompt publication of laws, regulations, judicial  decisions and administrative rulings of general 
application covering, inter alia , classification or the valuation of products for customs purposes; 
rates of duty, taxes or other charges; requirements, restrictions or prohibitions on imports or 
exports; or affecting the sale, distribution, transportation, insurance, warehousing inspection, 
exhibition, processing, or mixing of imported or exported goods.  The publication of these legal 
acts had to be in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with 
them.  This also included agreements affecting international trade policy, which were in force between the government or a governmental agency of any other WTO Member.   
240.  Members also noted that some WTO Agreements had additional transparency requirements, 
e.g., for Import Licensing, Customs Valuation, TBT, SPS, and that good regulatory practice 
required publication for review and comment and a method of taking the comments into 
consideration in finalizing the published laws, regulations and other normative acts.  They asked 
what steps had Afghanistan taken to implement these obligations.  
241.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that in preparing new legislation consistent with 
WTO Agreements (e.g. TBT, SPS, and Customs Va luation), Afghanistan would be taking into 
account specific transparency requirements stipulated in these Agreements.  He said that Afghanistan would amend Article 20 of the Regulati on on Drafting Procedure and Processing of 
Legal Acts to require that:  (i) draft legislation concerning foreign trade be published for 
consultation and public comments prior to finalization; (ii) publication of drafts would include a WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  reasonable period for comments (not less than 30 days) and indicate the means through which 
comments could be submitted to the relevant ministry or State agency; and (iii) ministries and State agencies convene a working group to discu ss received comments, including representatives 
of stakeholders who submitted the comments. 
242.  He further stated that Article 5 of Afghanis tan's Law on Publication and Enforcement of 
Legislation required publication in the Official Gazette of the following:  (i) official declarations of 
Afghanistan which were intended for the public, laws, resolutions and other parliamentary 
legislative documents, (ii) decrees and other legislative documents of legal nature; 
(iii) regulations, charters and resolutions of Council of Ministers which had legal nature; 
(iv) contracts, agreements, international protocols which were signed by Afghanistan and decrees 
relating to ratification of these treaties; (v) le gislative documents approved by the Supreme Court; 
and (vi) other legislative acts, dissemination of which was required by law, as well as publication of 
trademarks and related documentation.  He noted that Article 5 covered all types of laws and legal 
acts including those related to customs, foreign trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and 
other WTO Agreements.  He added that the Law on Publication and Enforcement of Legislation 
would be amended to (i) require publication of ministerial level decisions and mandatory orders in 
the Official Gazette; (ii) require that no legal acts would come into force earlier than 30 days after 
official publication in the Official Gazette or a longer period, if specified in the law or required 
under an international agreement to which Afghanistan was a signatory.  An exception from this 
provision were emergency measures where a legal act related to foreign trade could come into force upon official application but needed to be notified immediately to relevant international 
organizations in which Afghanistan was a member. 
243.  He added that it was a common practice in Afghanistan that ministries and state bodies 
published, on their websites, respective laws and implementing regulations.  Court decisions 
(including Commercial Court decisi ons) were published on the we bsite of the Supreme Court of 
Afghanistan as well as in Mezan Gazette and Qaza Magazine.     
- Notifications 
[TO BE COMPLETED] 
VIII. TRADE AG REEMENTS  
244.  The representative of Afghanistan said that his Government had signed 31 Bilateral Trade 
and Investment Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.  Afghanistan had signed ten other 
Bilateral Economic Agreements and Memoranda of Unde rstanding.  It had also signed five tripartite 
agreements. Afghanistan was a member of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), 
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperatio n (SAARC) and Central Asia Regional Economic 
Cooperation (CAREC) Programme.  The EU, the US, India, Canada and Japan granted preferential 
treatment for Afghanistan's exports, under the GSP scheme. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 66 - 
 
  245.  The representative of Afghanistan said th at a Preferential Trade Agreement between 
Afghanistan and India had been effective from May 2003.  This however had been superseded by the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) were India had provided duty free access for all Afghan 
exports except alcohol and tobacco products.  
246.  The representative of Afghanistan stated that  Afghanistan had preferential access to the 
European Union (EU) through the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, which granted duty and 
quota free access for all goods (with the exceptio n of arms) originating from Afghanistan.  
The United States GSP Programme provided duty free treatment for 5,000 products from 
Afghanistan.  A 35% value addition was required.  Afghanistan also qualified for additional 
products such as milk, yogurt, and food preparatio ns with flour, candy (candied nuts, sugar candy, 
and chocolate) and so did many Afghan handicrafts if certified by the Government.  The representative of Afghanistan added that Afgh an products enjoyed duty and quota free market 
access under a LDC market access initiative with Canada and GSP with Japan.   
247.  Afghanistan joined the Economic Cooperation Or ganization (ECO) in 1992.  One of the main 
objectives of the ECO was the "progressive remova l of trade barriers" with the aim of eventually 
establishing a free trade area among the ten member States.  The ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) 
was signed in 2003 by the five members of the ECO:   Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and 
Turkey.  Preferences under the ECOTA had not ye t come into effect.  The representative of 
Afghanistan said that under the ECOTA tariff reduct ions were expected to cover all goods traded 
among the members, except for goods notified by each member under a negative list.  The positive list of goods would be expanded gr adually on a proportionate basis in eight equal 
annual stages so as to cover at least 80% of the goods.  Afghanistan was provided an extended 
term of 15 years for implementation of tariff reductions.  Within this time frame, tariffs would be 
reduced to a maximum of 15% as the highest tariff.  Each member of the ECOTA was obliged, 
keeping in view the extent of tariff reduction required, to notify a schedule of concessions for 
gradual and progressive reduction of applied tariffs to bring the highest tariff to a maximum of 
15% at the end of eight years (15 years for Afghanistan), while reduction would not be less than 
10% of the existing tariff per annum.  The provisio ns applied to all goods, except sensitive goods 
which would not exceed one per cent of the 6-digit tariff lines.  Lists of sensitive goods would be 
annexed to the Agreement.  Afghanistan had developed and submitted to the ECO Secretariat its 
sensitive list, positive list, and negative list.  
248.  The representative of Afghanistan said that no prohibitions or restrictions other than tariffs 
would be applied on imports from ECOTA members within two years of the entry into force of the 
Agreement and all quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect on exports as 
well as and export duties/charges would also be abolished.  The ECOTA also included provisions on 
state aid, intellectual property (substantive standards on the WTO TRIPS Agreement, Paris 
Convention, Rome Convention, Madrid Convention and Berne Convention would be achieved within 
eight years after the entry into force of the Agr eement) and state monopolies (required to operate 
on a non-discriminatory basis) but did not cover trade in services procurement. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 67 - 
 
  249.  The representative of Afghanistan noted that in April 2007, Afghanistan became a member 
of the South Asian Association for Regional C ooperation (SAARC), which included Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.  Afghanistan also joined the South 
Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Agreement in August 2008.  The SAFTA was ratified by Afghanistan 
on 6 April 2010 and had come into effect on 7 August 2011.  The SAFTA was expected to provide 
preferential market access for Afghan products in member countries through reduced import 
duties.  The SAFTA was implemented in January 2006 with a goal to reduce tariff and non-tariff 
barriers over the following ten years.  Afghanistan developed and, on 7 August 2011, notified the 
SAARC Secretariat its schedule of tariff reductions under the SAFTA.  It called for reduction of 
customs duties for non-sensitive goods from current rates to 5% in equal instalments over a 
period of ten years (7 August 2011 to 6 August 2021). 
250.  Afghanistan was a member of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) 
Programme, which was initiated in 1997, focusing on  transport, energy, trade facilitation and trade 
policy.  There were no plans for providing tari ff preferences among CAREC member countries and 
Afghanistan's import trade was not subject to preferential tariff rates under the CAREC. 
CONCLUSIONS 
251.  The Working Party took note of the explanations  and statements of the Islamic Republic of 
Afghanistan concerning its foreign trade regime, as reflected in this Report.  The Working Party took note of the commitments by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in relation to certain specific 
matters, which are reproduced in paragraphs [xxxxx]. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 68 - 
 
  ANNEX 1 
Laws, Regulations and Other Information Prov ided to the Working Party by Afghanistan 
- Draft amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (Chapter Three) of 22 August 1990; 
- Law "On Income Tax" of 2009; 
- Law "On Private Investment" of 21 December 2005; 
- Afghanistan National Development Strategy, 2008-2013; 
- Law "On Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention" of 30 January 2010; 
- Draft amendments to the Customs Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; 
- Law "On Customs", 2004; 
- Law "On Procurement", 2008 (amendments made in January 2009 incorporated); 
- Regulation "On Business Licence", 2004; 
- Regulation "On Determining the Price of Goods in Customs" of 23 January 2006; 
- Regulation "On Customs Arbitration" of 20 March 2006; 
- Law "On Seeds Cultivation" of 16 December 2009; 
- Law "On Medicine" of 18 November 2008; 
- Law "On Public Health" of 8 January 2007; 
- Regulation "On Pharmacies" of 8 January 2007; 
- Regulation "On the Enforcement of the Manufactu re and Import of the Medicine and Medical 
Appliances" of 19 February 2007; 
- Regulation "On Import, Distribution and Use of Pesticides" of 3 October 1996; 
- Draft Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Standards and Technical Regulations; 
- Draft Plant Protection and Quarantine Law; 
- Regulation "On Plant Quarantine Services", 2000; 
- Draft Food Law;  
- Draft amendments to the Law "On Supporting the Rights of Inventors and Discoverers" 
(Patents Law); 
- Law "On Supporting the Rights of Inventors and Discoverers" of 31 July 2008; 
- Draft amendments to the Law "On Trade Marks Registration"; 
- Law "On Trade Marks Registration" of 1 September 2009; 
- Draft amendments to the Law "On Supporting the Rights of Authors, Composers, Artists and 
Researchers" (Copyrights Law); 
- Law "On Supporting the Right of Authors, Comp osers, Artists and Researchers (Copyright 
Law)" of 21 July 2008; 
- Draft Law "On Geographical Indications"; 
- Draft Law "On Industrial Designs"; 
- Law "On Secured Transaction on Movable Property in Banking Transactions", 2008; 
- Regulation "On Culture, Artistic, Remuneration Of Mass Media Services, Artistic Activities, 
Remuneration Of Scientific Researching and Publication Activities in the Scientific 
Researching Institutions" of 23 December 2003; 
- Regulation "On Import and Show of Films and Monitoring Cinema (with amendments 
through President Order)" of 8 November 1988; and 
- Decree "On the Amendments in Some Articles an d Sub-Articles of the Regulation on Import 
and Show of Films and Monitoring Cinema" of 8 November 2004. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 69 - 
 
  ANNEX 2 
Table 1:  Fees to obtain a licence from the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency 
(AISA) 
Amount of Initial Capital Classification Licensing Fee 
US$5,000 to US$10,000 Small size business US$50  
US$10,001 to US$1,000,000 Medium size business  US$700  
US$1,000,001 or more  Large size business  US$1,000  
Table 2(a):  List of Stat e-owned enterprises (SOEs) 
 Name of Enterprise Liquidated Corporatized  Privatized  Leased  Pending Excluded 
from 
privatization  
1 Millie Bus           1 
2 Engineering Research 1           
3 Securities (Soukook) 
Printing           1 
4 Prison Industry         1   
5 Improved Seed           1 
6 Micrurayan 
Maintenance           1 
7 Afghan Water Supply 
and Sewerage   1         
8 Da Afghanistan 
Brishna Sherkat   1         
9 Cooperative and 
Commercial     1       
10 Foodstuff         1   
11 Fuel and Liquid Gas         1   
12 Medical Plant Export 1           
13 Samoon Dried Fruit     1       
14 Shir Khan Bander 1           
15 Wool Weaving 1           
16 Afghan Carpentry 1           
17 Afghan Industry 1           
18 Kandahar Wool 
Weaving         1   
19 Helmand Bust         1   
20 Kunduz Spinzar       1     
21 Bagrami Textile         1   
22 Balkh Gin and Press       1     
23 Balkh Textile         1   
24 Kandahar  Textile          1   
25 Medical Supply and 
Technical     1       
26 Jabal Seraj Cement         1   
27 North Coal       1     
28 North Power and 
Fertilizer         1   
29 Ghuri Cement       1     
30 Afghan Gas         1   
31 Mines Extraction 1           
32 Jangalak 1           
33 Rokham Marble 1           WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 70 - 
 
   Name of Enterprise Liquidated Corporatized  Privatized  Leased  Pending Excluded 
from 
privatization  
34 Central 
Transportation         1   
35 Kamaz 5     1       
36 Kamaz 6 1           
37 Kamaz 7 1           
38 Kamaz 8 1           
39 Kamaz 9 1           
40 Heyratan Technical 
Services     1       
41 Hotel enterprise           1 
42 Afghan Advertising 1           
43 Azadi Printing         1   
44 Ariana Printing       1     
45 Afghan Tour         1   
46 Construction Material 
Production         1   
47 Kabul Slaughterhouse         1   
48 Pharmacy 
Department         1   
49 Education Printing         1   
50 Afghani Construction         1   
51 Banaye Construction         1   
52 Housing Construction         1   
53 Metal Component 
Production         1   
54 Jadid Energy 1           
55 Power Construction 1           
56 Helmand 
Construction         1   
57 Spin Ghar 
Construction 1           
58 Fertilizer and Agro 
Services 1           
59 Kabul Silo         1   
60 Pul-i-Khumri Silo         1   
61 Balkh Silo         1   
62 Kandahar Fruit         1   
63 Baghlan Sugar 
(coporaized and leassed)   1   1     
64 Slaughterhouse and 
Livestock 1           
65 Afghan Public 
Protection Force           1 
   19 3 5 6 27 6 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 71 - 
 
  Table 2(b):  List of corporations in  which the State has shares (SOCs) 
 Corporations with State Ownership State Share Status 
1 Ariana Airline Corporation  100% Functional  
2 Intercontinental Hotel 100% Functional  
3 ANIC 100% Functional  
4 Afsotar 51% Functional  
5 Esteras 51% Partially Functional  
6 Afghan Telecom 100% Functional  
7 Afghan Card 92% Functional  
8 Afghan Nechi 51% Inactive 
9 Afghan Turk 51% Inactive 
10 Aftanto NA Inactive 
11 Handicraft Industry  40% Inactive 
12 NAPCOD 42% Functional  
13 Afghan Water Supply and Sewera ge Company 20% Functional  
14 Afghan Textile  90% Partially Functional  
15 Hochest Company  51% Inactive 
16 Import & Export Company  NA  Inactive 
17 Oil & Soup Production Company  NA Inactive 
18 Mushtaq Bakery Corporation  NA Inactive 
19 Zamir Bakery Corporation  NA Inactive 
20 Vehicle Oil Company  NA Inactive 
21 New Baghlan Sugar  66% Partially Functional  
22 Afghan Teuur  NA Inactive 
23 Da Afghanistan Brishna Sherkat 100% Functional  
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 72 - 
 
  Table 3:  Goods and services subject to price control 
Goods Rates Responsible Authority Legal Basis 
Electricity Unit: AF per kwt 
 Residential depending on 
utilisation: 6-10  
 Government entities: 14 
 Non-Government Entities: 13 
 Production facilities registered 
at MOCI or licensed by AISA: 9  
 Factories (unregistered and 
not licensed by AISA): 11  
 Other commercial entities (not 
engaged in production): 14 
 These rates vary from one region in Afghanistan to another. There are 76 regions. The above rates are averages. Da Afghanistan Brishana 
Sherkat (a corporation with 100% Government share) proposes the price for electricity subject to approval by the following four ministers: Minister of Finance, Minister of Economy, Minister of Rural Development, and Minister of Energy and Water.   Board of Directors 
Decision (which comprises all four Ministers) 
Water Unit: AF per cubic meter 
 Residential 
- Constructed with 
permit: 25 
- Constructed without 
permit: 12 
 Commercial: 35 The Ministry of Urban 
Development proposes the prices for water which are then approved by Economic Committee under the Council of Ministers Council of Ministers 
Decision 
Pharmaceuticals and medical equipment   10% markup on imports and 
5% markup on wholesale based on the Regulation 
 15% markup for retailers 
based on Law 
12% markup for producers (de facto ) Ministry of Public Heal th Law on Medicine of 
17 January 2007  Regulation on 
Production and Import 
of Medicines and Medical Equipment dated February 2007 
Services Rates Responsible Authority Legal Basis 
Physicians Unit: AF per checkup 
 High Profile Doctors 
(Professor): 120 
 Specialized Doctor: 100 
 Doctor: 80 Ministry of Public Heal th Minister of Public 
Health Order 
Laboratory and other medical services Unit: AF per test 
 Ultrasound: 100 
 Physiotherapy: 100 
 Computed Tomography Brain 
Scan: 1,200 
 Computed Tomography 
Abdominal Scan: 2,000 
 Lithotripsy: 300, 350, and 450 
 Electrocardiogram: 80 
 Electroencephalogram: 800 
 Echo Cardiography: 800 
 Hemodialysis: 2,000  
 Electrocardiography Test: 500 
 Endoscopy: 500  Ministry of Public Heal th Minister of Public 
Health Order 
Table 4(a):  Afghanistan's applied tariff rates in 2011 
Tariff rates Number of 
tariff lines Share of 
lines Import value 
(in US$ million) Share of trade 
Zero 27 0.5% 2.6 0.0%  
From 0 to 5% 3,625 71.6% 4,796.5 62.9%  
More than 5% to 10% 1,235 24.4% 1,347.8 17.7%  
More than 10% to 20% 113 2.2% 1,141.0 15.0%  
More than 20% to 35% 52 1.0% 269.2 3.5%  
More than 35% to 50% 9 0.2% 65.2 0.9%  
More than 50% 0 0% 0.0 0.0%  
Total 5,061 100.0% 7,622.3 100.0%  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 73 - 
 
  Table 4(b):  Products subject to tariffs rates of 20, 25, 35, 40, and 50% in 2011 
Tariff rates  Product description 
20% Juices, beverages 
25% Fruits and nuts, processed marble, salt, pl aster, gypsum, lime, furniture, carpets 
35%-50%  Vehicles and salt 
Table 5(a):  Fees for Customs Forms 
Type of Form  Cost 
T-1 Form/Elm-e-Khabar  approximately US$20  
ASYCUDA electronic processing fee  approximately US$4  
Exemption form  approximately US$10  
Duty paid goods form 
(planned for internal transit of goods)  approximately US$2  
International Transit Form  US$100 
US$200 (for weight exceeding 25 tonnes) 
Table 5(b):  Fees for Customs Storage 
Period  Fee 
First 30 days  Free  
First 6 months (after 30 days)  0.25% of customs duty  
Second 6 months  0.5% of customs duty  
Third 6 months  1.5% of customs duty  
Fourth 6 months  2.0% of customs duty  
Beyond the end of fourth 6 months  5.0% of customs duty 
Table 6(a):  Taxes on Imported Goods 
Type Rate Note 
Tax benefiting Afghan Red Crescent Agency
 2% of the value of customs duty  Applied on all imports.  
Fixed Tax  2% of (customs duty + customs value) or  3% of (customs duty + customs value) if no business licence
 Applied on all imports.  The 2% can be claimed as 
credit in the calculation of the person's annual income tax assessment.
 
Business Receipts Tax (BRT)
 2% of (customs duty + customs value) 
 Cannot be claimed as credit. 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 74 - 
 
  Table 6(b): Taxes on legal and natural pe rsons, land, and economic activities 
1. Persons: 
(a) Legal persons: - Income tax based on fixed norms:  20%; 
- Business Receipts Tax:  2% for most businesses; 
- Business Receipts Tax:  5% for restaurants, hotels, and wedding halls which has quarterly 
revenue of approximately US$15,000.00 or more; and 
- Business Receipts Tax:  10% for airlines telecommunications and, restaurants, and hotels 
providing superior services. 
The income for legal persons includes: - All receipts derived from business/industry/construction/other economic activity; 
- Interest/dividends/rents/royalties; and 
- Any other income from labour, capital or economic activity. 
(b) Natural persons:  
Based on monthly income: 
- 0%:  for income 0 – US$100; 
- 2%:  for income from US$101 to US$250; 
- US$3 fixed amount plus 10%:  for income from US$251 to US$2,000; and 
- US$178 fixed amount plus 20%:  for income above US$2,000. 
The income for natural persons includes: - Salaries/wages/fees/commissions; 
- All receipts derived from business/industry/construction/other economic activity; 
- Interest/dividends/rents/royalties/rewards/prizes/bonus payments; - Distributive shares of partnership income; and 
- Any other income from labour, capital or economic activity. 
In addition, natural persons are subject to BRT at the same rate as legal persons if the quarterly 
gross revenue of natural persons is approximately US$15,000 or higher. 
2. Land: 
There is no land tax in Afghanistan. 3. Sale or Transfer of Movable and Immovable Property: One per cent of the price receivable on sale or transfer of moveable or immovable property is 
payable by natural as well as legal persons.  This tax is in lieu of income tax in the case of a 
natural person and will be allowed as credit against tax payable in the case of a legal person when the tax return is filed. 
4. Transport: 
Persons who carry on a business of transport of g oods or passengers are liable to a tax based on 
the load or passenger carrying capacity of the vehicle.  The income tax law provides a schedule to 
determine the amount of tax payable.  The tax is a final tax so income derived from business 
taxed on this basis will not be subject to annual income tax assessment. 
5. Rent Withholding Tax: All tenants (lessees) of property used for business purposes (including accommodation of 
employees) are required to withhold tax at the rate  of 10% from payment of rent to the landlord WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 75 - 
 
  (lessor) where the rent is approximately US$200 or more per month.  Where the payment of rent 
is approximately US$2,000 or more per month, the rate is 15%.  The tax withheld is treated as a credit towards the landlord's (lessor's) annual income tax assessment. 
6. Contractor Withholding Tax: 
All contractors, no matter whether they are foreign or national persons, who make payments 
under a contract, are required to withhold tax from those payments.  If the payee has a business licence, then tax is to be withheld at the rate  of 2% of the amount of the payment.  The tax 
withheld will be allowed as a credit against the payee's annual income tax assessment.  If the 
payee does not have a business licence, then tax is to be withheld at the rate of 7% of the amount 
of the payment.  In this case, the tax withheld will be treated as a "final" tax and there is no requirement for the payee to declare this income in their annual income form. 
7. Economic activities:  
The incomes from all persons (see 2 above) are subject to tax unless exempted by law. WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 76 - 
 
  Table 7(a):  Import Licensin g Measures and Related Fees 
Product Import Measure Fee in US$ Validity 
Pharmaceuticals, 
medical equipment and cosmetics, and pharmacy tools Permit from the Ministry of 
Public Health 0.075% of total cost of 
medicine.  It is the same for both domestic and foreign persons One year; multiple 
import transactions for a specific quantity of goods 
Veterinary medical instruments and veterinary drugs and biological materials  Permit from the General 
Directorate of Animal Health under MAIL  No fee  One year; multiple 
import transactions 
Printed books, brochures, leaflets, and other printed matters  Import approval from the 
Ministry of Information and Culture  No fee  Single import 
transaction 
Films  Import approval from MoIC Importation of Pakistani, 
Indian and USA movies (around US$50); other countries (around US$30) Additional US$10 for board review One year; single 
import transaction 
Telecommunications equipment Import licence from the 
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology  US$2,000 annually  One year; licence for 
multiple import transactions 
Armoured vehicles Im port Permit from the 
Ministry of Interior  No fee  One year; single 
import transaction 
Arms, ammunitions, military equipment Import Permit from the 
Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence No fee  One year; single 
import transaction 
Precursors and narcotic chemicals Import Licence from the 
Ministry of Counter-Narcotics No fee  Six months; multiple 
import transactions for specific quantity 
Endangered species   Import permit from the 
National Environmental Protection Agency of Afghanistan  Currently, the export and import is prohibited No fee Six months with 
extension for one year, single import transaction 
Ozone Protection  (see Table 7(b) below) Import permit from the 
National Environmental Protection Agency of Afghanistan No fee One year; single 
import transaction 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 77 - 
 
  Table 7(b):  Goods Requiring Import Permit from the National Environmental Protection 
Agency of Afghanistan (NEPA) 
No. HS Code Chemical Name Formula Trade Name 
1. 2903.4100 Trichlorofluormethane CCL3F R-11 
2. 2903.4200 Dichlorodifluoromethane CC12F2 R-12 
3. 2903.4300 Trichlorotrifluoroethane C2Cl3F3 R-113 
4. 2903.4400 Dichlorotetrafluoroethane C2Cl2F4 R-114 
5. 2903.4400 Chloropentafluorethane C2ClF5 R-115 
6. 2903.4600 Bromochlorodifluoromethane  CBRClF2 - 
7. 2903.4600 Bromotrifluoromethane CBRF3 - 
8. 2903.4600 Dibromotetrafluoroethane  C2BR2F4 - 
9. 2903.4510 Chlorotrifluoreomethane  CClF3 R-13 
10. 2903.4520 Pentachlorofluorethane C2Cl5F R-111 
11. 2903.4520 Tetrachlorodifluoroethane  C2Cl4F2 R112 
12. 2903.4530 Heptachlorofluoropropane  C3Cl7F R-211 
13. 2903.4540 Hexachlorodifluoropropane  C3Cl6F2 R-212 
14. 2903.4540 Pentachlorotrifluoropropane C3Cl5F3 R-213 
15. 2903.4550 Tetrlchlorotetrafluoropropene  C3Cl4F4 R-214 
16. 2903.4550 Trichloropentafluoropropane C3Cl3F5 R-215 
17. 2903.4560 Dichlorohexafluoropropane  C3Cl2F6 R-216 
18. 2903.4560 Chlorohptafluoropropane C3ClF7 R-217 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 78 - 
 
  Table 8:  Banned and Restricted Pesticides 
Abbreviations: 
- PIC: As per Prior Informed Consent Procedure List (Rotterdam Convention) 
- S: As per Stockholm Convention List 
- M: As per Montreal Protocol 
- I: As per Indian Decision - B: Banned 
- RU: Restricted for Use 
- RR: Registration Refused - W: Withdrawn 
 
The list covers 82 items with some falling under more than one category: 
- Banned by a Party of Rotterdam and thus on PIC Procedure List:  29  
- Banned as per Stockholm Convention List:  9  
- Indian Decision (B/RU/RR/W):  69  
SI No. Formulation Status Authority 
1 2,4, 5-T B, RR B (PIC), RR (I) 
2 Aldicarb B I 
3 Aldrin B S, PIC, I 
4 Aluminium Phosphide RU I 
5 Ammonium Sulphamate RR I 
6 Azinphos Ethyl RR I 
7 Azinohos Methyl RR I 
8 Formulation B PIC 
9 Benzene Hexachloride B S, PIC, I 
10 Binapacryl B, RR B (PIC), RR (I) 
11 Calcium Arsenate RR I 
12 Calcium Cyanide B I 
13 Captafol 80%Powder B, BU B (BPIC), BU(I) 
14 Carbofuron 50%SP BIMU I 
15 Carbophenothion RR I 
16 Chinomethionate(Morestan) RR I 
17 Chlordane B S, PIC, I 
18 Chlordimeform B PIC 
19 Chlorobenzilate B PIC, I 
20 Clbromochloropropane B I 
21 Copper Acetoarsenite B I 
22 Dalapon W I 
23 DDT B, RU B (S, PIC), RU 
24 Dialdrin B S, PIC, I 
25 Diazinon RU I (Agric) 
26 Dicrotophos RR I 
27 Dinoseb B PIC 
28 DNOC and its salts B PIC 
29 Endosulfan RU I 
30 Endrin B S, I 
31 EPM RR I 
32 Ethyl Mercury Chloride B I 
33 Ethyl Parathion B I 
34 Ethylene Dibromide (EDB) B PIC, I 
35 Ethylene Dichloride B PIC 
36 Ethylene Oxide B PIC 
37 Fenitrothion RU I 
38 Fenthion RU I (Agric) 
39 Fentin Acetate RR I 
40 Fentin Hydroxide RR I 
41 Ferbam W I 
42 Fluoroacetamide B PIC 
43 Formothion W I 
44 Formulation of Parathion B PIC 
45 HCH B PIC WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 79 - 
 
  SI No. Formulation Status Authority 
46 Heptachlor B S, PIC, I 
47 Lead Arsenate RR I 
48 Leptophos (Phosvel) RR I 
49 Lindane B, RU B (S, PIC), RU 
50 Maleic Hydrazide B I 
51 Menazone B I 
52 Mephosfolan RR I 
53 Mercury Compounds B PIC 
54 Methamidophos form B PIC 
55 Methomyl 12.5% L B I 
56 Methomyl 24% L B I 
57 Chloride (MEMC) RU I 
58 Methyl Bromide B, RU B (M), RU (I) 
59 Methyl Parathion B, RU B (PIC), RU (I) 
60 Metoxuron W I 
61 Mevinphos (Phosdrin) RR I 
62 Formulation B, RU B (PIC), RU (I) 
63 Nickel Chloride W I 
64 Nicotin Sulfate BU I 
65 Nitrofen B I 
66 Paradichlorobenz ene (PDCB) W I 
67 Paraquat Dinethyl Sulphate B I 
68 Parathion B PIC 
69 Pentachloro Nitrobenzene B I 
70 Pentachlorophenol B PIC, I 
71 Phenyl Mercury Acetate B I 
72 Phosphamidon 85% SL B PIC, I 
73 Simazine W I 
74 Sodium Cyanide RU I 
75 Sodium Cyanide RU I 
76 Sodium Methane Arsenate B I 
77 TCA (Trichloro acetic acid) B I 
78 Tetradifon B I 
79 Thiodemeton / Disulfoton RR I 
80 Toxaphene B S, PIC, I 
81 Vamidothion RR I 
82 Warfarin W I 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 80 - 
 
  Table 9:  Export Measures and Related Fees 
Product Export Measure Fee WTO Justification  
All minerals Export authorisation from the 
Ministry of Mines No fee GATT Article XX(d) 
Handicrafts (that 
may be construed 
to be antique) Export approval from the 
Ministry of Information and 
Culture The measure is to 
determine if handicrafts 
are antique.  If they are not, export approval is granted and a fee of 5% of the value of the invoice is charged. GATT Article XX(f) 
Scrap metals Export authorisation from the 
Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan Export authorisation from the Ministry of Mines No fee by either body GATT Article XX(d) 
Printed books, 
brochures, leaflets, and other printed matters Export approval from the 
Ministry of Information and Culture No fee GATT Article XX(a) 
Films  Export approval from the 
Ministry of Information and Culture No fee  GATT Article XX(a) 
Table 10:  List of Mandator y Documents for Exportation 
Measure  Issuing Ministry/Agency/Associations 
Business Licence  Ministry of Commerce and Indust ries (MOCI) (not under OSS) 
Commercial Invoice  Attested by representative of Af ghanistan Chamber of Commerce and 
Industry (ACCI) at the OSS 
Certificate of Origin  Issued by representative of ACCI at the OSS 
Phytosanitary Certificate (for plant and plant products only)
 Issued by the representative of the Quarantine Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation , and Livestock (MAIL) at the OSS 
Veterinary Certificate (for animal 
and animal products only)  Issued by the representative of the Animal Health Department of MAIL (not at OSS)  
Export Seeds Certificate (for seeds)  Issued by the Seeds Directorate under MAIL at OSS 
Export authorisation for all minerals  Issued by the Ministry of  Mines (not under OSS) 
Export authorisation for scrap metals  Issued by the representative of the Export Promotion Agency of 
Afghanistan at the OSS Issued by the Ministry of  Mines (not under OSS) 
Export authorisation for used glass, 
plastics and coal  Issued by the representative of the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan at the OSS 
Export approval for printed books, brochures, leaflets, and other printed matters
 Issued by the Ministry of Inform ation and Culture (not under OSS) 
Export approval for films  Issued by the Ministry of Inform ation and Culture (not under OSS) 
Export approval for handicrafts (to 
check if they are antique)  Issued by the representative of the Ministry of Information and Culture at the OSS 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 81 - 
 
  Table 11:  Goods Subject to Export Duties 
HS Description Export 
Duties 
25.01 Salt (including table salt and denature d salt) and pure sodium chloride, whether 
or not in aqueous solution or containing  added anti-caking or  free-flowing agents; 
sea water.  
2501.0010 -Table salt and denatured salt 40% 
2501.0090 -Other 5% 
2502.0000 Unroasted iron pyrites. 5% 
2503.0000 Sulphur of all kinds, other than sublimed sulphur, precipitated sulphur and 
colloidal sulphur. 5% 
25.04 Natural graphite.  
2504.1000 -In powder or in flakes 5% 
2504.9000 -Other 5% 
25.05 Natural sands of all kinds, whether or not coloured, other than metal bearing 
sands of Chapter 26.  
2505.1000 -Silica sands and quartz sands  5% 
2505.9000 -Other 5% 
25.06 Quartz (other than natural sands); quartzite, whether or not roughly trimmed or 
m e r e l y  c u t ,  b y  s a w i n g  o r  o t h e r w i s e ,  into blocks or slabs of a rectangular 
(including square) shape.  
2506.1000 -Quartz 5% 
2506.2000 -Quartzite 5% 
2507.0000 Kaolin and other kaolinic clays, whether or not calcined. 5% 
25.08 Other clays (not including expanded cl ays of heading 68.06), andalusite, kyanite 
and sillimanite, whether or not calcined; mullite; chamotte or dinas earths.  
2508.1000 -Bentonite 2.5% 
2508.3000 -Fire-clay 2.5% 
2508.4000 -Other clays 2.5% 
2508.5000 -Andalusite, kyanite and sillimanite 2.5% 
2508.6000 -Mullite 2.5% 
2508.7000 -Chamotte or dinas earths 2.5% 
2509.0000 Chalk. 5% 
25.10 Natural calcium phosphates, natural aluminium calcium phosphates and 
phosphatic chalk.  
2510.1000 -Unground 5% 
2510.2000 -Ground 5% 
25.11 Natural barium sulphate (barytes); natu ral barium carbonate (witherite), whether 
or not calcined, other than barium oxide of heading 28.16.  
2511.1000 -Natural barium sulphate (barytes) 5% 
2511.2000 -Natural barium carbonate (witherite) 5% 
2512.0000 Siliceous fossil meals (for example, kieselguhr, tripolite and diatomite) and similar 
siliceous earths, whether or not calcined, of  an apparent specific gravity of 1 or 
less. 5% 
25.13 Pumice stone; emery; natural corundum, natural garnet and other natural 
abrasives, whether or not heat-treated.  
2513.1000 -Pumice stone 5% 
2513.2000 -Emery, natural corundum, natural garnet and other natural abrasives 5% 
2514.0000 Slate, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into 
blocks or slabs of a rectangu lar (including square) shape. 5% 
25.15 Marble, travertine, ecaussine and other calcareous monumental or building stone 
of an apparent specific gravity of 2.5 or more, and alabaster, whether or not 
roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a 
rectangular (including square) shape.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 82 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
 -Marble and travertine:  
2515.1100 --Crude or roughly trimmed 20% 
2515.1200 --Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular 
(including square) shape 20% 
2515.2000 -Ecaussine and other calcareous monumental or building stone; alabaster 20% 
25.16 Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone an d other monumental or building stone, 
whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangu lar (including square) shape.  
 -Granite:  
2516.1100 --Crude or roughly trimmed 5% 
2516.1200 --Merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular 
(including square) shape 5% 
2516.2000 -Sandstone 5% 
2516.9000 -Other monumental or building stone 5% 
25.17 Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind commonly used for concrete 
aggregates, for road metalling or for railw ay or other ballast, shingle and flint, 
whether or not heat-treated; macadam of slag, dross or similar industrial waste, whether or not incorporating the materials cited in the first part of the heading; 
tarred macadam; granules, chippings and po wder, of stones of heading 25.15 or 
25.16, whether or not heat-treated.  
2517.1000 -Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind commonly used for concrete 
aggregates, for road metalling or for railw ay or other ballast, shingle and flint, 
whether or not heat-treated 5% 
2517.2000  Macadam of slag, dross or similar industrial waste, whether or not incorporating 
the materials cited in subheading 2517.10 5% 
2517.3000 -Tarred macadam 5% 
  -Granules, chippings and powder, of st ones of heading 25.15 or 25.16, whether 
or not heat-treated:  
2517.4100 --Of marble 5% 
2517.4900 --Other 5% 
25.18 Dolomite, whether or not calcined or sintered, including dolomite roughly trimmed 
or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise,  into blocks or slabs of a rectangular 
(including square) shape;  dolomite ramming mix.  
2518.1000 -Dolomite, not calcined or sintered 10% 
2518.2000 -Calcined or sintered dolomite 10% 
2518.3000 -Dolomite ramming mix 10% 
25.19 Natural magnesium carbonate (magne site); fused magnesia; dead-burned 
(sintered) magnesia, whether or not containing small quantities of other oxides added before sintering; other magn esium oxide, whether or not pure.  
2519.1000 -Natural magnesium carbonate (magnesite) 1% 
2519.9000 -Other 5% 
25.20 Gypsum; anhydrite; plasters (consisting of calcined gypsum or calcium sulphate) 
whether or not coloured, with or without small quantities of accelerators or retarders.  
2520.1000 -Gypsum; anhydrite 25% 
2520.2000 -Plasters 25% 
2521.0000 Limestone flux; limestone and other calcareous stone, of a kind used for the 
manufacture of lime or cement. 5% 
25.22 Quicklime, slaked lime and hydraulic lime, other than calcium oxide and 
hydroxide of heading 28.25.  
2522.1000 -Quicklime 25% WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 83 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
2522.2000 -Slaked lime 25% 
2522.3000 -Hydraulic lime 25% 
25.23 Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, super sulphate cement and 
similar hydraulic cements, wh ether or not coloured or in the form of clinkers.  
2523.1000 -Cement clinkers 5% 
  -Portland cement :  
2523.2100 --White cement, whether or not artificially coloured 5% 
2523.2900 --Other 5% 
2523.3000 -Aluminous cement 5% 
2523.9000 -Other hydraulic cements 5% 
25.24 Asbestos.  
2524.1000 -Crocidolite 5% 
2524.9000 -Other 5% 
25.25 Mica, including splitting; mica waste.  
2525.1000 -Crude mica and mica rifted  into sheets or splittings 10% 
2525.2000 -Mica powder 10% 
2525.3000 -Mica waste 10% 
25.26 Natural steatite, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or 
otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a re ctangular (including square) shape; talc.  
2526.1000 -Not crushed, not powdered 5% 
2526.2000 -Crushed or powdered 5% 
[25.27] (to be assigned)  
2528.0000 Natural borates and concentrates thereof (whether or not calcined), but not 
including borates separated from natural brine; natural boric acid containing not more than 85 % of H3BO3 calculated on the dry weight. 2.5% 
25.29 Feldspar; leucite, nepheline an d nepheline syenite; fluorspar.  
2529.1000 -Feldspar 5% 
  -Fluorspar:  
2529.2100 --Containing by weight 97 % or less of calcium fluoride 5% 
2529.2200 --Containing by weight more than 97 % of calcium fluoride 5% 
2529.3000 -Leucite; nepheline and nepheline syenite 5% 
25.30 Mineral substances not elsewhere specified or included.  
2530.1000 -Vermiculite, perlite and chlorites, unexpanded 5% 
2530.2000 -Kieserite, epsomite (natural magnesium sulphates) 5% 
2530.9000 -Other 5% 
26.01 Iron ores and concentrates, in cluding roasted iron pyrites.  
  -Iron ores and concentrates, othe r than roasted iron pyrites:   
2601.1100 --Non-agglomerated 2.5% 
2601.1200 --Agglomerated 2.5% 
2601.2000 -Roasted iron pyrites 2.5% 
2602.0000 Manganese ores and concentrates, in cluding ferruginous manganese ores and 
concentrates with a manganese content of  20 % or more, calculated on the dry 
weight. 2.5% 
2603.0000 Copper ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2604.0000 Nickel ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2605.0000 Cobalt ores and concentrates. 2.5% WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 84 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
2606.0000 Aluminium ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2607.0000 Lead ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2608.0000 Zinc ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2609.0000 Tin ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2610.0000 Chromium ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
2611.0000 Tungsten ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
26.12 Uranium or thorium ores and concentrates.  
2612.1000 -Uranium ores and concentrates 2.5% 
2612.2000 -Thorium ores and concentrates 2.5% 
26.13 Molybdenum ores and concentrates.  
2613.1000 -Roasted 2.5% 
2613.9000 -Other 2.5% 
2614.0000 Titanium ores and concentrates. 2.5% 
26.15 Niobium, tantalum, vanadium or zirconium ores and concentrates.  
2615.1000 -Zirconium ores and concentrates 2.5% 
2615.9000 -Other 2.5% 
26.16 Precious metal ores and concentrates.  
2616.1000 -Silver ores and concentrates 2.5% 
2616.9000 -Other 2.5% 
26.17 Other ores and concentrates.  
2617.1000 -Antimony ores and concentrates 2.5% 
2617.9000 -Other 2.5% 
2618.0000 Granulated slag (slag sand) from the manufacture of iron or steel. 2.5% 
2619.0000 Slag, dross (other than granulated slag), scalings and other waste from the 
manufacture of iron or steel. 2.5% 
26.20 Slag, ash and residues (other than from the manufacture of iron or steel), 
containing arsenic, metals or their compounds.  
  -Containing mainly zinc:  
2620.1100 --Hard zinc spelter 2.5% 
2620.1900 --Other 2.5% 
  -Containing mainly lead:  
2620.2100 --Leaded gasoline sludges and leaded anti-knock compound sludges 2.5% 
2620.2900 --Other 2.5% 
2620.3000 -Containing mainly copper 2.5% 
2620.4000 -Containing mainly aluminium 2.5% 
2620.6000 -Containing arsenic, mercury, thallium or their mixtures, of a kind used for the 
extraction of arsenic or those metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds 2.5% 
  -Other :  
2620.9100 --Containing antimony, beryllium, cadmium, chromium or their mixtures 2.5% 
2620.9900 --Other 2.5% 
26.21 Other slag and ash, including seaweed  ash (kelp); ash and residues from the 
incineration of municipal waste.  
2621.1000 -Ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste 2.5% 
2621.9000 -Other 2.5% 
27.01 Coal; briquettes, ovoids and simila r solid fuels manufactured from coal.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 85 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
   Coal, whether or not pulverised, but not agglomerated:  
2701.1100 --Anthracite 2.5% 
2701.1200 --Bituminous coal 2.5% 
2701.1900 --Other coal 2.5% 
2701.2000 -Briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal 5% 
27.02 Lignite, whether or not agglomerated, excluding jet.  
2702.1000 -Lignite, whether or not pulverised, but not agglomerated 2.5% 
2702.2000 -Agglomerated lignite 5% 
2703.0000 Peat (including peat litter), whether or not agglomerated. 5% 
2704.0000 Coke and semi coke of coal, of lignite or of peat, whether or not agglomerated; 
retort carbon. 5% 
2705.0000 Coal gas, water gas, producer gas and similar gases, other than petroleum gases 
and other gaseous hydrocarbons. 5% 
2706.0000 Tar distilled from coal, from lignite or from peat, and other mineral tars, whether 
or not dehydrated or partially dist illed, including re constituted tars. 5% 
27.07 Oils and other products of the distillati on of high temperature coal tar; similar 
products in which the weight of the aromatic constituents exceeds that of the non-aromatic constituents.  
2707.1000 -Benzol (benzene) 5% 
2707.2000 -Toluol (toluene) 5% 
2707.3000 -Xylol (xylenes) 5% 
2707.4000 -Naphthalene 5% 
2707.5000 -Other aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures of which 65% or more by volume 
(including losses) distils at 250 °C by the ASTM D 86 method 5% 
  -Other :  
2707.9100 --Creosote oils 5% 
2707.9900 --Other 5% 
27.08 Pitch and pitch coke, obtained from coal tar or from other mineral tars.  
2708.1000 -Pitch 5% 
2708.2000 -Pitch coke 5% 
2709.0000 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude. 2.5% 
27.10 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; 
preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70% or 
more of petroleum oils or of oils obta ined from bituminous minerals, these oils 
being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils.  
  - Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (other than crude) 
and preparations not elsewher e specified   or included, containing by weight 70% 
or more of petroleum oils or of oils ob tained from bituminous minerals, these oils 
being the basic constituents of the preparations, other than those containing biodiesel and other than waste oils:  
  --Light oils and preparations  
2710.1210  ---- Gasoline for Aviation 12% 
2710.1220 ---- Gasoline for Vehicule 12% 
2710.1290 ---- Other 12% 
  -- Other  
2710.1910 ---- Gasoil (Diesel) 12% 
2710.1920 ---- Jet fuel (aviation Jet oil) 12% 
2710.1930 ---- Kerosene 8% 
2710.1940 ---- Lubricants oil  8% WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 86 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
2710.1950 ---- Grease  8% 
2710.1990 ---- Other 8% 
2710.2000 - Petroleum oils and oils obtained fro m bituminous minerals (other than crude) 
and preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils ob tained from bituminous minerals, these oils 
being the basic constituents of the prepar ations, containing biodiesel, other than 
waste oils 12% 
  -Waste oils:  
2710.9100 --Containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) 
or polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) 8% 
2710.9900 --Other 8% 
27.11 Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons.  
  -Liquefied:  
2711.1100 --Natural gas 2.5% 
2711.1200 --Propane 2.5% 
2711.1300 --Butanes 2.5% 
2711.1400 --Ethylene, propylene, butylene et butadiene 2.5% 
2711.1900 --Other 2.5% 
  -In gaseous state:  
2711.2100 --Natural gas 2.5% 
2711.2900 --Other 2.5% 
27.12 Petroleum jelly; paraffin wax, micro-crystalline petroleum wax, slack wax, 
ozokerite, lignite wax, peat wax, other mineral waxes, and similar products obtained by synthesis or by other processes, whether or not coloured.  
2712.1000 -Petroleum jelly 1% 
2712.2000 -Paraffin wax containing by weight less than 0.75 % of oil 5% 
2712.9000 -Other 5% 
27.13 Petroleum coke, petroleum bitumen and othe r residues of petroleum oils or of oils 
obtained from bituminous minerals.  
 -Petroleum coke:  
2713.1100 --Not calcined 5% 
2713.1200 --Calcined 5% 
2713.2000 -Petroleum bitumen 5% 
2713.9000 -Other residues of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals 5% 
27.14 Bitumen and asphalt, natural; bituminous or oil shale and tar sands; asphaltites 
and asphaltic rocks.  
2714.1000 -Bituminous or oil shale and tar sands 2.5% 
2714.9000 -Other 2.5% 
2715.0000 Bituminous mixtures based on natural asphalt, on natural bitumen, on petroleum 
bitumen, on mineral tar or on mineral tar pitch (for example, bituminous mastics, 
cut-backs). 2.5% 
2716.0000 Electrical energy. (optional heading) 2.5% 
68.02 Worked monumental or building stone (except slate) and articles thereof, other 
than goods of heading 68.01; mosaic cubes and the like, of natural stone (including slate), whether or not on a ba cking; artificially coloured granules, 
chippings and powder, of natu ral stone (including slate).  
6802.1000 -Tiles, cubes and similar articles, whether or not rectangular (including square), 
the largest surface area of which is capable of being enclosed in a square the side 
of which is less than 7 cm; artificially coloured granules, chippings and powder 16% 
  -Other monumental or building stone an d articles thereof, simply cut or sawn, 
with a flat or even surface:  
6802.2100 -- Marble, travertine and alabaster 20% WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 87 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
6802.2300 -- Granite 16% 
6802.2900 -- Other stone 16% 
 -Other:  
6802.9100 -- Marble, travertine and alabaster 20% 
6802.9200 -- Other calcareous stone 16% 
6802.9300 -- Granite 16% 
6802.9900 -- Other stone 16% 
6803.0000 Worked slate and articles of slate or of agglomerated slate. 16% 
71.01 Pearls, natural or cultured, whether or not worked or graded but not strung, 
mounted or set; pearls, natural or cultur ed, temporarily strung for convenience of 
transport.  
7101.1000 -Natural pearls 10% 
 -Cultured pearls:  
7101.2100 --Unworked 10% 
7101.2200 --Worked 10% 
71.02 Diamonds, whether or not worked, but not mounted or set.  
7102.1000 -Unsorted 5% 
  -Industrial:  
7102.2100 --Unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted 5% 
7102.2900 --Other 5% 
  -Non-industrial:  
7102.3100 --Unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted 5% 
7102.3900 --Other 5% 
71.03 Precious stones (other than diamonds ) and semi-precious stones, whether or not 
worked or graded but not strung, mounte d or set; ungraded precious stones 
(other than diamonds) an d semi-precious stones, temporarily strung for 
convenience of transport.  
7103.1000 -Unworked or simply sawn or roughly shaped 5% 
  -Otherwise worked:  
7103.9100 --Rubies, sapphires and emeralds 5% 
7103.9900 --Other 5% 
71.04 Synthetic or reconstructed precious or semi-precious stones, whether or not 
worked or graded but not strung, mo unted or set; ungra ded synthetic or 
reconstructed precious or semi-preci ous stones, temporarily strung for 
convenience of transport.  
7104.1000 -Piezo-electric quartz 5% 
7104.2000 -Other, unworked or simply sawn or roughly shaped 5% 
7104.9000 -Other 5% 
71.05 Dust and powder of natural or synthe tic precious or semi-precious stones.  
7105.1000 -Of diamonds 2.5% 
7105.9000 -Other 2.5% 
  II.- PRECIOUS METALS AND METALS CLAD WITH PRECIOUS METAL  
71.06 Silver (including silver plated with gold or platinum), unwrought or in semi-
manufactured forms, or in powder form.  
7106.1000 -Powder 2.5% 
  -Other :  
7106.9100 --Unwrought 2.5% WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 88 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
7106.9200 --Semi-manufactured 2.5% 
7107.0000 Base metals clad with silver, not further worked than semi-manufactured. 2.5% 
71.08 Gold (including gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in semi-manufactured 
forms, or in powder form.  
  -Non-monetary:  
7108.1100 --Powder 1% 
7108.1200 --Other unwrought forms 1% 
7108.1300 --Other semi-manufactured forms 2.5% 
7108.2000 -Monetary 5% 
7109.0000 Base metals or silver, clad with gold, not further worked than semi-manufactured. 5% 
71.10 Platinum, unwrought or in semi-manuf actured forms, or in powder form.  
  -Platinum :  
7110.1100 --Unwrought or in powder form 5% 
7110.1900 --Other 5% 
  -Palladium:  
7110.2100 --Unwrought or in powder form 5% 
7110.2900 --Other 5% 
  -Rhodium :  
7110.3100 --Unwrought or in powder form 5% 
7110.3900 --Other 5% 
  -Iridium, osmium and ruthenium:  
7110.4100 --Unwrought or in powder form 5% 
7110.4900 --Other 5% 
7111.0000 Base metals, silver or gold, clad with platinum, not further worked than semi-
manufactured. 5% 
71.12 Waste and scrap of precious metal or of  metal clad with precious metal; other 
waste and scrap containing precious meta l or precious metal compounds, of a 
kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal.  
7112.3000 -Ash containing precious metal or precious metal compounds 5% 
  -Other:  
7112.9100 --Of gold, including metal clad with gold but excluding sweepings containing other 
precious metals 5% 
7112.9200 --Of platinum, including metal clad with platinum but excluding sweepings 
containing other precious metals 5% 
7112.9900 --Other 5% 
  III.- JEWELLERY, GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES AND OTHER 
ARTICLES  
71.13 Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with 
precious metal.  
  -Of precious metal whether or not plated or clad with precious metal:  
7113.1100 --Of silver, whether or not plated or clad with other precious metal 10% 
7113.1900 --Of other precious metal, whether or not plated or clad with precious metal 1% 
7113.2000 -Of base metal clad with precious metal 10% 
71.14 Articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof,  of precious metal 
or of metal clad with precious metal.  
  -Of precious metal whether or not plated or clad with precious metal:  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 89 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
7114.1100 --Of silver, whether or not plated or clad with other precious metal 10% 
7114.1900 --Of other precious metal, whether or not plated or clad with precious metal 1% 
7114.2000 -Of base metal clad with precious metal 10% 
71.15 Other articles of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal.  
7115.1000 -Catalysts in the form of wire cloth or grill, of platinum 2.5% 
7115.9000 -Other 2.5% 
71.16 Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, 
synthetic or reconstructed).  
7116.1000 -Of natural or cultured pearls 10% 
7116.2000 -Of precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) 10% 
71.17 Imitation jewellery.  
  -Of base metal, whether or no t plated with precious metal:  
7117.1100 --Cuff-links and studs 10% 
7117.1900 --Other 10% 
7117.9000 -Other 10% 
71.18 Coin.  
7118.1000 -Coin (other than gold coin), not being legal tender 5% 
7118.9000 -Other 5% 
72.04 Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel.  
7204.1000 -Waste and scrap of cast iron 5% 
  -Waste and scrap of alloy steel:  
7204.2100 --Of stainless steel 5% 
7204.2900 --Other 5% 
7204.3000 -Waste and scrap of tinned iron or steel 5% 
  -Other waste and scrap:  
7204.4100 --Turnings, shavings, chips, milling waste, sawdust, filings, trimmings and 
stampings, whether or not in bundles 5% 
7204.4900 --Other 5% 
7204.5000 -Remelting scrap ingots 5% 
7404.0000 Copper waste and scrap. 5% 
7503.0000 Nickel waste and scrap. 5% 
7602.0000 Aluminium waste and scrap. 5% 
7802.0000 Lead waste and scrap. 5% 
7902.0000 Zinc waste and scrap. 5% 
8002.0000 Tin waste and scrap. 5% 
81.01 Tungsten (wolfram) and articles thereof, including waste and scrap.  
8101.9700 --Waste and scrap 5% 
81.02 Molybdenum and articles thereo f, including waste and scrap.  
8102.9700 --Waste and scrap 5% 
81.03 Tantalum and articles thereof, including waste and scrap.  
8103.3000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.04 Magnesium and articles thereo f, including waste and scrap.  
8104.2000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.05 Cobalt mattes and other intermediate products of co balt metallurgy; cobalt and 
articles thereof, including waste and scrap.  WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 90 - 
 
  HS Description Export 
Duties 
8105.3000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.07 Cadmium and articles thereo f, including waste and scrap.  
8107.3000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.08 Titanium and articles thereo f, including waste and scrap.  
8108.3000  -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.09 Zirconium and articles thereof, including waste and scrap.  
8109.3000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.10 Antimony and articles thereof, including waste and scrap.  
8110.2000 -Waste and scrap 5% 
81.12 Beryllium, chromium, germanium, vana dium, gallium, hafnium, indium, niobium 
(columbium), rhenium and thallium, and ar ticles of these metals, including waste 
and scrap.  
 -Beryllium  
8112.1300 --Waste and scrap 5% 
 -Chromium  
8112.2200 --Waste and scrap 5% 
 -Thallium  
8112.5200 --Waste and scrap 5% 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 91 - 
 
   
Table 12:  Prohibited Expo rts of Endangered Species 
No. Evaluation Year Scientific Name Classification (IUCN) 
Mammals 
1. 2008 Acinonyx jubatus Critical Risk(CR) 
2. 2009 Barbastella leucomelas Vulnerable(VU) 
3. 2008 Canis lupus Vulnerable  (VU) 
4. 2008 Capra falconeri Endangered(EN) 
5. 2008 Capra sibirica Critical Risk(CR) 
6. 2008 Caracal caracal Vulnerable(VU) 
7. 2009 Cervus elaphus bactrianus Endangered(EN) 
8. 2008 Felis chaus Deficiency Data(DD) 
9. 2008 Felis silvestris Deficiency Date(DD) 
10. 2009 Gazella bennettii Critical risk (CR) 
11. 2009 Gazella subgutt Urosa Endangered(EN) 
12. 2009 Hyaena hyaena Deficiency Data(DD) 
13. 2008 Lepus capensis Deficiency Data(DD) 
14. 2008 Lynx lynx Vulnerable(VU) 
15. 2009 Martes foina Deficiency Data(DD) 
16. 2008 Moschus cupreus Critical Risk(EN) 
17. 2008 Otocolobus manul Deficiency Data(DD) 
18. 2008 Ovis orientalis Deficiency Data(DD) 
19. 2008 Panthera pardus Endangered(EN) 
20. 2008 Prionailurus bengalensis Deficiency Data(DD) 
21. 2008 Ovis ammon polii Vulnerable(VU) 
22 . 2009 Rhinolophus mehelyi Deficiency Data(DD) 
23. 2008 Uncia uncial Endangered(EN) 
24. 2008 Ursus arctos Defficeincy Data(DD) 
25. 2008 Ursus thibetanus Endangered(EN) 
26. 2009 Vulpes cana Deficiency Data(DD) 
27. 2008 Vulpes corsac Deficiency Data(DD) 
Amphibia 
28. 2008 Batrachuperus mustersi Critical Risk(CR) 
Birds 
29. 2009 Aquila heliacal Endangered(EN) 
30. 2008 Chlamydotis macqueenii Vulnerable(VU) 
31. 2008 Falco cherrug Vulnerable(VU) 
32. 2009 Falco naumanni Vulnerable(VU) 
33. 2008 Grus leucogeranus Critical Risk(CR) 
34. 2009 Gyps bengalensis Critical Risk(CR) 
35. 2009 Haliaeetus leucoryphus Vulnerable(VU) 
36. 2009 Marmaronetta angustirostris Endangered 
37. 2009 Neophron percnopterus Endangered(EN) 
38. 2009 Oxyura leucocephala Critical Risk(CR) 
39. 2009 Pelecanus crispus Vulnerable(VU) 
40. 2008 Phoenicopterus roseus Vulnerable(VU) 
41. 2009 Vanellus gregarious Critical risk(CR) 
Insects 
1. 2008 Parnassius autocrator Endangered 
Plants 
1. 2009 Abies spectabilis Vulnerable(VU) 
2. 2008 Corydalis adiantifolia Deficiency Data(DD) 
3. 2008 Corydalis hindukushensis Deficiency Data(DD) 
4. 2009 Taxus wallichiana Endangered(EN) 
5. 2009 Ulmus wallichiana Endangered(EN) WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
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  Table 13:  Procurement Methods Threshold Limits 
Procurement Method  Approval Authority of Minister  
Goods  Works  Services  
National Open Tendering  Approximately 
US$400,000  Approximately US$2,000,000
 Approximately US$400,000
 
International Open Tendering  Approximately 
US$800,000  Approximately US$4,000,000
 Approximately US$800,000
 
National Restricted Tendering  Approximately 
US$160,000  Approximately US$320,000
 Approximately US$160,000
 
International Restricted Tendering  Approximately US$320,000
 Approximately US$640,000
 Approximately US$320,000
 
National Single Source Procurement  Approximately US$100,000
 Approximately US$500,000
 Approximately US$100,000
 
International Single Source Procurement  Approximately US$200,000
 Approximately US$1,000,000
 Approximately US$200,000
 
Request for Proposals for Consultancy Services National and International
  Approximately 
US$800,000  
Request for Quotation  Approximately US$10,000
 Approximately US$10,000
 Approximately US$10,000 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 93 - 
 
  Table 14:  Action Plan for Areas under th e Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade 
(TBT) to be implemented after WTO Accession 
(Full implementation of the TBT Agreement by the end of 2015) 
Action Implementation Date 
II. Equivalency of foreign technical regulations and Results of 
conformity assessment procedures:  
- Study the experience of other coun tries in this regard through study 
tour and review of existing operational and successful systems Prior to mid-2014 
- Develop appropriate equivalence mechanism in line with the WTO 
TBT and based on best international practices Prior to end of 2014 
- Establish mechanism and Unit and recruit appropriate resources Prior to mid-2015  
- Provide training to staff on equivalence Prior to end of 2015 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 94 - 
 
  Table 15:  Action Plan for Areas under th e Agreement on Sanitary & Phytosanitary 
Measures to be implemented after WTO Accession 
(Full implementation of the SPS Agreement by the end of 2017) 
Action Implementation Date 
Analysis of existing regulations and procedures and adoption of 
amendments or new regulations in line with new SPS laws: 
- Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine  
- Law on Animal Health and Veterinary - Law on Food Safety Prior to end of 2014 
Training of relevant officials on new regulations and procedures Prior to end of 2014 
Development of procedures for science-based risk assessment 
 Capacity building related to sc ience-based risk assessment Prior to end of 2015 
Upgrading and strengthening of qualit y control, laboratories, quarantine 
system, and disease and animal Heal th surveillance, monitoring and 
inspection Prior to end of 2015 
Capacity building of staff of MAIL on  quarantine management, inspection, 
veterinary surveillance and animal disease risk analysis. Prior to end of 2015 
Declaration of pest or disease-free ar eas and areas of low pest or disease 
prevalence Prior to end of 2015 
Capacity and new testin g methods for drug resi dues, toxicological, 
microbiological, and bacteriological tests Prior to end of 2016 
Opening new quarantine check post and development of pre and post 
quarantine facilities Prior to end of 2016 
Harmonization with international standards, guidelines, and 
recommendations (Codex Alimentarius, OIE, and IPPC) Prior to end of 2017 
Control, inspection and approval procedures for all SPS measures Prior to end of 2017 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 95 - 
 
  Table 16:  Action Plan for Areas under th e Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property to be implemented after WTO Accession 
(Full implementation of the TRIPS Agreement by the end of 2015) 
Topic Actions Timetable 
Copyrights Training of judges, priv ate lawyers and enforcement agencies 
Coordination procedure among relevant enforcement authorities Public awareness on copyrights law Prior to end of 2014 
Trademarks Automation of trademar ks registry and related training 
Capacity building of IP Office at Ministry of Commerce and 
Industries on trademarks ex amination and registration 
Public awareness on trademarks rules and procedures Prior to end of 2014 
Patents Automation of patents registry 
Capacity building of IP Office at Ministry of Commerce and 
Industries on patents exam ination and registration Prior to end of 2014 
Border enforcement 
of Intellectual Property Rights (ex officio) Methodology/Manual for recognizing infringing goods 
Database for customs recordation of copyrights and trademarks Establishment of IP Unit with in Afghan Customs Department Prior to Mid-2015 
Training to customs officials 
Awareness targeting right holders Prior to end of 2015 
Layout Designs of 
Integrated Circuits Organization of Registrar of Layout of Designs of Integrated 
Circuits within the Ministry of Commerce and Industries 
Development and adoption of Regulations under the Law on Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits Development and adoption of Rules Governing Registrar of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits Prior to end of 2014 
 
Creation of a Register of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits  Computerization of Registry Prior to end of 2015 
Training of Registry staff on legal requirements and 
implementation  Training of judges on new legal and technical principles related to protection of layout designs of integrated circuits 2014-2015 
Geographical 
Indications Organization of Registrar of Geographical Indications within 
the Ministry of Comm erce and Industries 
Organization of Registrar of Geographical Indications within the Ministry of Comm erce and Industries 
Development and adoption of Rules Governing Registrar of Geographical Indications Prior to end of 2014 
Creation of a Register of  Geographical Indications 
Computerization of Registry Prior to end of 2015 
Training of Registry staff on legal requirements and 
implementation  Training of judges on new legal principles related to 
protection of geographical indications 2014-2015 
Trade Secrets Development of regulations for Trade Secrets law Prior to end of 2014 
Training of authorities responsible for marketing approval of 
pharmaceutical or agricultur al chemical products on 
protection of undisclosed test data Training of judges on new legal principles related to 
protection of trade secrets, including those involved in legal proceedings 2014-2015 
Industrial Designs Organiza tion of Registrar of Industrial Designs under the 
Office of Intellectual Property within the Ministry of Commerce 
and Industries Development of Rules Governin g Registrar of Industrial 
Designs Prior to end of 2014 
 
Creation of a Register of Industrial Designs Computerization of Registry Prior to end of 2015 
Training of Registry staff on legal requirements and 
implementation 2015 WT/ACC/SPEC/AFG/3/Rev.1 
 
- 96 - 
 
  Topic Actions Timetable 
Plant Variety Organization of Registrar of New Varieties of Plants within the 
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock 
Development and adoption of Regulations under the Law on 
Protection of New Varieties of Plants 
Development and adoption of Rules Governing Registrar of New Varieties of Plants Prior to end of 2014 
 
Creation of a Register of New Varieties of Plants Computerization of Registry Prior to end of 2015 
Training of Registry staff on legal requirements and 
implementation  Training of Ministry staff on compulsory licensing principles 
Training of judges on new legal and technical principles related to plant variety protection 2015 
 
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