Afghanistan woos Indian industry with 5-year tax break, low duties

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan will offer a five-year tax exemption for new domestic industries and a 1% import duty on raw materials and machinery, Afghan commerce minister Nooruddin Azizi said on Friday, while vowing to deepen economic ties with India. He identified cement, rice, textiles, pharmaceuticals, mining, and energy as priority sectors for a country that has been in the griup of strife for years. "To support domestic industry, we are giving a preferential 1% tariff on raw materials and machinery and a five-year tax exemption for new industries that are set up in Afghanistan," Azizi said at a PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) event in Delhi and stated that Afghanistan created a "flexible and enabling" business environment and wanted Indian companies to invest in large nu