KABUL: The meeting of the Economic Commission was held on Wednesday, with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, on the chair, discussing the imposition of fixed gold-based taxes on gold-washing companies.
Gold-washing companies should be required to pay a fixed monthly tax based on land category, a statement from the office of the deputy PM for economic affairs said, adding that the proposed rates are 5, 10, and 15 grams of high-standard gold per hectare.
“This fixed tax will be collected by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum during royalty collection, in the presence of a representative from the Ministry of Finance,” said the statement.
The royalty payment structure for small- and large-scale chromite mining contractor companies was also discussed in the meeting, the statement added, adding that the royalty arrangements for chromite extraction had also been reviewed.
It was proposed that for small-scale mining companies, all extraction costs will be borne by the companies.
“For unprocessed chromite, the Ministry of Mines would receive 45% of the share and companies 55%. However, if companies process the extracted chromite using their own facilities, the ministry’s share would reduce to 40%, and the company’s share would increase to 60%,” the statement further said.
In large-scale chromite mining, companies will cover all extraction costs, with the proposed revenue split set at 35% for the Ministry of Mines and 65% for the extracting company for unprocessed chromite, the statement noted.
Regarding large-scale chromite mining, the Economic Commission decided that all extraction costs will be paid by the companies. For extracted and unprocessed chromite, the Ministry of Mines will receive 35%, while 65% will go to the company, the statement added.
If large-scale companies have processing facilities and process the extracted chromite, the revenue share will shift to 30% for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and 70% for the company.
These decisions will apply only to contracted companies involved in small- and large-scale chromite mining that have already begun extraction and are currently active on site.
The discussed proposals have been forwarded to the Office of the IEA Supreme Leader for final approval.
Economic Commission discusses imposition of fixed gold-based taxes on gold-washing companies
