KATHMANDU, Dec 9: The government has imposed a cash penalty up to 200 percent for revenue leakage if traders are found cheating deliberately by modifying specifications or producing fake documents of goods for imports and exports.
The government on Saturday implemented the Customs Act 2025, which was certified by the president three months ago, in an attempt to minimize revenue leakage via cross-border smuggling of goods.
“The traders proven guilty of submitting counterfeit documents with the motive of benefitting from revenue leakage will be subjected to a cash penalty of 200 percent of the cheated amount or a jail term of 6-12 months or both,” reads the new provision in the act.
A similar rate of cash penalty will also be imposed if importers are found using goods imported on tax exemption facility for purposes other than the specified ones. The act also talks about taking stern action against traders who have already imported goods under one category if found manipulating the categorization of similar goods for imports in successive transactions.
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The new law has introduced definition and scope of the offense cases against fraudulent exporters. If any exporter is found manipulating specifications of the exported goods, they will be penalized with cent percent of the valuation of goods while the authorities will confiscate the goods under question.
In case if the quantity is found to be lower than the specified quantity as stated in the self declaration form, the traders will have to pay cent percent of the cheated amount in cash penalty. Previously, the traders found guilty in such cases were supposed to pay 50 percent in cash penalty.
The amended act considers the individuals, who influence the customs officials to do any misconduct, also as equally guilty and will be subjected to face legal actions. If the influencing person is a civil servant, the new law imposes a cash penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 or one-year jail term or both. “In case of other people found guilty, they will face a similar amount of cash penalty and detention of up to six months.
The new act mandates a four-lane customs clearing system, adding one new provision for this purpose. The new law has added ‘blue lane’ on top of previously existing green, red and yellow lanes in the list.
In the green lane, traders with high credibility will be permitted to have customs clearance of the imported goods without undergoing assessment of traded goods and related documents. In the red lane, documents are only cross-checked while the authorities cross-check both goods and documents at the yellow lane.
In the newly added ‘blue lane’, the importers will have to undergo a post-clearance audit process, which is a structured examination even after the customs office releases the cargo.
According to an official at the Ministry of Finance, the new customs rules have been enacted in line with the clauses under the World Trade Organisation. Nepal sanctioned amendment of trade facilitation agreement in 2017.
Meanwhile, customs agents on Monday protested the government’s new law for slapping heavy penalties in case of minor errors on documentations. Expressing their dissatisfaction, the customs agents were reported to have disrupted the office works at Bhairahawa Customs Office.
