Mohammad Mostafa Mastoor, the Deputy Minister of Finance, said on Monday that the 133.5 billion AFG in revenue set as the target for the next fiscal year could be undershot if the Law on Mines and Income Tax Law fail to be approved soon.
Although Parliament is expected to go on winter recess starting tomorrow, January 21, two important economic laws still await approval, including the Law on Mines and Income Tax Law.
The Law on Mines has perhaps seen the most attention of the two over the past year, as there has been growing interest from foreign companies and governments in opportunities for mining in Afghanistan. It was not until just recently that the wealth of minerals that exists in Afghanistan was discovered.
"If the Law on Mines is not approved next year, we will not be able to achieve our target from domestic sources for next fiscal year," Mastoor said. "In consideration of the 2014 elections, we dispatched the law to Parliament six months before and our expectations was that parliament decide on the Law before election activities started."
Meanwhile, lawmakers involved in assessing the Law on Mines said it had already been approved by the Commission on Natural Resources and Environment, but still required input from the rest of the legislator.
"Our commission has finalized the law, the only thing that remains is that the other eighteen parliamentary commissions must offer their recommendations and amendments to the law," member of the Commission on Natural Resources and Environment Obaidullah Ramin said. "Unfortunately, they didn't do so, and this kept us from taking the law to the open floor for a vote."
The MoF has emphasized that the of the Law on Mines would allow for the implementation of investment attraction policies geared toward getting increasing the flow of foreign capital into Afghanistan.