September 21: Revenue collection has been affected due the strict policy adopted by the government to discourage imports. The government has failed to collect revenue as per its target due to the decline in imports of petroleum products and vehicles which are the chief contributors to the government’s revenue.

Birgunj Customs, which is the main customs point of the country in terms of the quantity of imports and exports, failed to meet its target of revenue collection in the first two months of the current fiscal year.

According to the Chief Customs Officer of Birgunj Customs, Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, the revenue collection of this customs office during the review period was 79 percent of the target.  

Customs Chief Baruwal confirmed that the revenue collection declined due to the drop in import of petroleum products and vehicles.

“This customs point used to collect maximum revenue from petroleum products and vehicles. As the import of these products declined, we couldn’t meet the revenue collection target,” said Baruwal.

The government has adopted a strict policy for the import of vehicles such as cars, jeeps and vans for personal use. The demand for vehicles has dropped after banks refused to invest on vehicles as per the instruction of the central bank. The importers are unable to obtain customs clearance of the vehicles that have already arrived at the customs point. At present, more than 1800 vehicles are stuck at the Integrated Check Point in Birgjun, informed  Kamal Gyawali, chief of the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee that looks after the ICP.

Customs officials say that the government increased the revenue collection target when it had adopted measures to curb imports.

The revenue collection target of Birgunj Customs during the last fiscal year was Rs 204 billion which has been increased to Rs 260 billion in the current fiscal year. Birgunj Customs has collected Rs 27.13 billion in the last two months.