Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) officials have dismissed as exaggerated speculation about possible smuggling of low-tariff merchandise out of the ASEZ, reported the Jordan Times newspaper.
Only three months into the soft opening of the ASEZ, some merchants and potential investors have expressed concern that items may have been smuggled out of the zone and into the rest of the kingdom.
But ASEZ officials countered that trafficking incidents were limited and said the situation was under control, said the paper.
“Terming a few incidents as `smuggling operations' is inaccurate. And the size of the problem is not as bad as people expect...it is merely related to visitors who come to Aqaba and leave without declaring their purchases,” said ASEZ Commissioner for Investment and Economic Development Imad Fakhouri.
Fakhouri told the paper that the ASEZ Authority and the Customs Department had been cooperating to prevent any smuggling activities.
“It is not a major problem, and such things do happen in all parts of the world...it happens in airports and when people travel into other countries,” explained Fakhouri.
Some parliamentarians and economic analysts earlier warned that turning Aqaba into a special economic zone would create fertile ground for illegal activities. They said the treasury was prone to lose millions of dinars in uncollected taxes and customs.
Observers said that with the low five per cent income tax and seven per cent sales tax levied in the ASEZ, Aqaba-bound merchandise was certain to outbid overtaxed trade elsewhere in the country.
“An inventory control system for registered companies is also in force to curb possible smuggling activities,” said Fakhouri, according to the Jordan Times.
According to zone officials, Jordanians are eligible to purchase up to JD200 worth of low-tax merchandise on each trip to the zone, excluding electrical appliances and purchases of commercial quantities.
The ASEZ is also working out a “balanced taxation” formula, notably on alcohol and tobacco, in order to maintain an “administrative barrier against smuggling.”
The Desert Highway and the Dead Sea Highway leading to Aqaba are dotted with dozens of customs clearance booths, the paper added – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
