BIRGUNJ (PARSA), Dec 11: Smuggling has continued to rise due to the lack of enforcement of uniform tax systems between Nepal and India.
Though the sovereign countries have their separate modus operandi of state governance, the tax system with identical nature was appropriate for preventing smuggling in the context of the open border between the two countries, the stakeholders of the economic sector said.
Industrialists and businessmen of Birgunj have also demanded alignment between the India-enforced Goods and Services Tax (GST) and customs assessment system of Nepal to control smuggling through the open border.
Non-gazetted officials of Gaur customs auction fertilizers in t...
The urge has come in the context of lack of uniformity in the GST enforced by the Indian government and customs assessment system of Nepal.
It may be noted that the Armed Police Force (APF) in Parsa had seized goods worth Rs 151.8 million imported in the first four months of the current fiscal year. The items recovered by the Armed Police include clothes, electronic goods, hardware, motor parts, food and groceries.
In the same period, goods worth Rs 26.43 million without invoice were also seized.
In this context, senior vice-president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hari Gautam said that illegal import-export could not be controlled in lack of uniformity between GST and the customs duty of Nepal.
President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Anil Kumar Agrawal claimed that the informal economy has been thriving due to the lack of abolition of custom valuation manuals. "At present, the illegal economy is prevailing in our country in terms of exports and imports. There are higher differences in the price of goods between Nepal and India. It has enabled an environment for smuggling," he noted. "The unlawful export-import could have been reduced by enforcing uniformed systems," he said, arguing it would also help control the informal economy.
Chief Customs Administrator Deepak Lamichhane recently mentioned in a program on revenue leakage control that the importers have faced some technical issues while failing to follow the Harmonized System code for importing goods, as per international standards. "The main source of the country's revenue is import-based. When imports decrease, revenue collection also drops," he said. "We are facilitators for the industry and business community, and our focus is always on ensuring the smooth import and export of their goods."
