Afghan Customs: U.S. Programs Have Had Some Successes, but Challenges Will Limit Customs Revenue as a Sustainable Source of Income for Afghanistan.

摘要

A nation s ability to control its borders is essential in controlling the flow of licit and illicit goods and assessing appropriate tariffs and customs duties. Customs revenue is a major component of Afghanistan s national budget, which is currently funded through a combination of domestic revenue collections and aid from international donors. For Afghanistan s 3 most recent fiscal years, customs revenue collections produced $698 million-$1.1 billion annually, accounting for 44-48 percent of total domestic revenue collection. However, domestic revenues continue to fall short of expenditures, and international assistance is expected to decline in coming years. As a result, increasing the Afghan government s collection of domestic revenues is a main objective of both the U.S. and Afghan governments. The U.S. government through programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Homeland Security s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided funding and expertise to assist the Afghan government in developing and reforming its customs assessment and collection capabilities. USAID has administered multiple projects designed to improve the trade and customs environment, including two Trade Accession and Facilitation for Afghanistan (TAFA) programs called TAFA I and TAFA II between November 2009 and August 2013, and their successor program the Afghanistan Trade and Revenue (ATAR) program, which started in November 2013. CBP has administered the Border Management Task Force (BMTF), a program that mentors Afghan Customs Department (ACD), Afghan Border Police, and Afghan Customs Police agents at border control points and inland customs depots.