KABUL (SW): Alliance of tobacco traders on Sunday protested against the government’s measures hindering imports.
They claimed no restrictions were imposed on them in the past 15 years, but the Ministry of Finance has now enforced curbs on their imports. They claimed imported tobacco products worth hundreds of thousands of dollars by some twenty firms are stranded at the customs.
Mirwais, Bano Malikzad and Sanaullah, three such traders, said thousands of people are associated with this trade. They charged the MoF did not inform them a year in advance about the new restrictions. They vowed to consult legal organs of the state if the government did not release their shipments by tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, the MoF has clarified the actions against tobacco imports are in line with the Article 20 of the Law to Control Tobacco Products. Ajmal Abdul Hamidzay, spokesman for the MoF, has noted in a statement the tobacco products not having warnings written on them about the health hazards in Pashto and Dari languages would not be allowed entry.
ENDS
