DUSHANBE, January 29, 2014, Asia-Plus -- On Wednesday January 29, the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) discussed amendments to the country’s law on the national budget for 2014 that provide for exempting the Foreign Ministry from paying value added tax (VAT) and customs duties on the delivery of blank biometric passports and blank identification cards.

Speaking at the session, First Deputy Foreign Minister, Mahmoudjon Sobirov, noted that they had purchased 540,000 blank biometric passports, 600,000 blank identification cards and necessary equipment to the total amount of 3.4 million euros.  “A total amount of VAT and customs duties on the delivery of the mentioned blank biometric passports and blank identification cards as well as the necessary equipment is 18.825 million somoni,” Sobirov noted.        

Meanwhile, MP Ismoil Talbakov noted that “import of one blank biometric passport comes to 50.00 somoni and import of one blank identification card comes to 6.40 somoni while the cost of biometric passports is now close to 120.00 U.S. dollars.”

The Majlisi Namoyandagon Speaker Shukurjon Zuhurov ordered Ismoil Talbakov to carry out parliamentary inspection and find out the actual cost prices for biometric passports and identification cards.

We will recall that Tajikistan introduced biometric passports on February 1, 2010.  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 at 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 the blank biometric passports and appropriate equipment for Tajikistan.

Electronic identification cards are expected to fully replace the regular 16-page passports.  Issuance of identification cards for citizens of Tajikistan will begin on 1 March, 2014.  With that, the internal passport of the citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan is valid within the territory of Tajikistan until its expiration, which means that both the electronic and the paper document will be valid.