KATHMANDU, June 27: More than Rs 234.93 billion has been collected as revenue from the two customs offices in Birgunj in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. The amount has been raised through the Birgunj Customs Office (BCO), the country's largest commercial port, and the Dryport Customs Office, which is connected to the international waterway transit network through the Indian Railways.
The BCO has been able to collect Rs 188.78 billion, exceeding the target revenue collection for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year by 1.7 percent. The office had received a target for revenue collection of Rs 185.61 billion. The Dryport Customs Office, on the other hand, managed to collect Rs 46.14 billion until the 11th month of the current fiscal year, which is 2.9 percent less than the target of Rs 47.52 billion.
Birgunj customs mobilizes Rs 161 billion in revenue
With one month left for the end of the current fiscal year, the revenue collection of both the customs offices at Birgunj combine to 234.93 billion. Over the period, the contribution from the fuel and vehicle imports was significant to the revenue collection. According to an official at the BCO, the revenue collection is also a result of the large influx of oil from the Motihari Raxaul-Amlekhgunj pipeline.
Although the Dryport Customs Office failed to meet the target revenue collection, the difference between the target and actual revenue collection seems to have been rather small suggesting that the office was close to meeting the target. Santosh Neupane, an information officer at the Dryport Customs Office, says that the government’s ban on imports of some goods and the tightening of imports on others has naturally had an impact on revenue.
