Amendments toughening penalty for commodity smuggling do not concern legal entities, an official source at the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus today.

According to him, legal entities are not involved in commodity smuggling and amendments proposed to the country’s administrative code main concern physical entities.

Recall, presenting the amendments to lawmakers, the head of Customs Service, Abdufattoh Ghoib, said on November 10 that the goal of the amendments is to prevent contraband from being smuggled into the country.

The amendments reportedly stipulate that a huge fine will be imposed on smugglers and their mobile means will be confiscated.

Smugglers will now face a fine equal to the double cost of the contraband and confiscation of their mobile means.

Under the current administrative code, the fine does not exceed the single fold cost of the contraband.

Speaking at the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) session, Ghoib noted that contraband was mainly being smuggled into Tajikistan from neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

According to him, unsolved issues related to delineation of Tajikistan’s common border with Kyrgyzstan facilitate smuggling of commodities out of Kyrgyzstan.

“201 cases of commodity smuggling worth 4.33 million somoni were reported in September alone,” Tajik chief customs officer told lawmakers on November 10.

The proposed legislation now has to be seconded by the upper house (Majlisi Milli) of parliament and then signed by President Emomali Rahmon to become law.