DUSHANBE, December 21, 2011, Asia-Plus — Under amendments proposed to the law on the national budget for 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been exempted from paying customs duty on delivery of 21,000 blank biometric passports for a total amount of more than 550,000 somoni.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Jamshed Norinov, remarked this at a regular sitting of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) on December 21. According to him, these funds will go to financing the construction of a new building for the Foreign Ministry.
“In 2009, the Foreign Ministry received a 24 million somoni loan for purchase of blank biometric passports and appropriate equipment for Tajikistan as well as training of personnel,” said Norinov. “To-date, the ministry has repaid more than 22 million somoni.”
The deputy minister expressed confidence that the Foreign minister would fully repay the loan before the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the Majlisi Namoyandagon Speaker Shukurjon Zuhurov was surprised that fees set for biometric passports by the Foreign Ministry were so high. According to him, the credit is given to the ministry for three years. Thus, the fee for diplomatic biometric passports is US$125.00, the fee for the service biometric passport is US$100.00 and the fee for ordinary Tajik biometric passport is US$75.00.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nizomiddin Zohidov said that the prices for the biometric passports would be lowered in perspective.
We will recall that that German Muhlbauer has been granted a contract for purchase of blank biometric passports for Tajikistan. A two-stage tender for purchase of blank biometric passports and appropriate equipment, announced by the Agency for State Purchases within the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was held in June 2009. On August 27, 2009, Tajik MFA and German Muhlbauer signed a contract on purchase of blank biometric passports and appropriate equipment for Tajikistan. The document was inked in Dushanbe by Mr. Hamrokhon Zarifi, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, and Mr. Ludwig Huber, Vice-President of Muhlbauer.
Besides, the Dushanbe’s mayor’s office was exempted from paying customs duty and value added tax (VAT) on rides delivered to Dushanbe for a new amusement park.
Deputy Mayor, Sayvali Safarov, noted that 36 rides for a total amount of 43 million somoni had been purchased in Italy. According to him, they will be introduced into operation in April 2012.
“A total amount of exempt payments is 10.4 million somoni and we will take them into account while setting the ride costs,” the deputy mayor noted.
