During the period, a total of 990,073 liters of whiskey, wine and beer entered Nepal via Birgunj customs. This compares with a total of 773,983 liters of branded liquor imported in the same period last fiscal year.[break]
The customs office stated that imports of whiskey rose by 39 percent to 339,571 liters during the review period. During the same period last year, a total of 244,686 liters of whiskey had entered Nepal.
Imports of wine went up to 548, 824 liters in the six-month period from 546,700 liters recorded in the same period last year.
Similarly, Nepal imported 101,678 liters of beer during the period, up from 71,691 liters recorded during the same period last year.
Birgunj Customs Office Chief Shiva Bhandari said most of the liquor imported by Nepal came from the UK, Australia, South Africa and France.
During fiscal year 2011/12, around Rs 500 million worth of liquor was brought into the country through Birgunj.
With the rise in imports, the government revenue, in the form of customs duty, also increased to Rs 664.6 million during the review period from Rs 519.3 million recorded in the same period last year.
In fiscal year 2011/12, total revenue from liquor imports stood at Rs 851.6 million.
Likewise, Nepal imported 4.02 million liters of energy drinks worth Rs 409.6 million during the period.
During last year´s corresponding period, a total of 3.02 million liters of energy drinks worth Rs 261.3 million was imported. Nepal has been sourcing energy drinks mainly from China, Korea and Malaysia.
The government earned Rs 212.6 million in customs duty from imports of energy drinks during the review period, up from Rs 137.6 million in the same period last year.
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