Azerbaijan Customs collects levies on exports of agricultural products

Azerbaijan Customs illegally collected from farmers and entrepreneurs money under the guise of export duty for agricultural products. Turan was told by a source in the Ministry of Agriculture, who requested anonymity.

The official said that the Customs collects levies on exports, the amount of which for some products makes up 50% of the cost. Therefore, many farmers are forced to sell crops on the domestic market at a cheap price. As an example, he named feijoa. Astara farmers complain that the customs requires them to pay a 30% "duty."

It is noteworthy that non-governmental organizations dealing with economic issues do not know what is happening. The President of the Foundation for Entrepreneurship Sabit Bagirov and an expert of the NGO coalition National Budget Group Fuad Rasulov told Turan that they do not have such information.

It should be noted that the other day in Parliament it was suggested to address "the need for a duty-free regime for the export of fresh fruits and vegetables." MP Yevda Abramov said that cars loaded with agricultural products have to wait for hours at the border with Russia.

Note that tariffs in Azerbaijan are regulated in accordance with the law "On Customs Tariff", adopted in 1995. Under this law, export tariffs and the relevant products shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers. The government adopted on 12 April 2001 Decision No 80, according to which the export duty involves only ferrous and nonferrous metals.

It is noteworthy that some manufacturers and exporters of fruit juices also complain of illegal levies on Azerbaijani customs. -08B-