March 7: Customs clearance of goods has been delayed due to the disruption of the server of the Department of Customs. The customs agents have requested the department to solve the problem immediately, saying that the cost of doing business has increased due to the ineffectiveness of the server.

The officials of the Federation of Customs Agents Nepal submitted a memorandum to the director general of the department, Shobhakant Paudel to apprise him that the problems in the server of the department has been delaying customs clearance of goods and this is having a negatively affecting the cost of business.

The team including the president of the Federation, Bharatraj Ghimire, met Director General Paudel and informed him about the problem. Director General Paudel assured the delegation that he will take initiative to solve the problem soon.

Ghimire said that since the system was developed in such a way that it would generate OTP when filling the notification form but the OTP could not be generated as the server went down. As a result, the customs clearance process was obstructed.

Customs agents claim that the ineffectiveness of the server is also taking its toll on the revenue collection of the customs. Besides, it has encouraged smuggling of goods on passenger vehicles while causing inconvenience to the tourists entering Nepal from the border with their vehicles.

According to Punya Bikram Khadka, information officer of the Department of Customs, the problem has surfaced because the local internet service providers are not providing quality services.

“This problem might also be linked with the problem in the system of integrated check post and the dry port and other agencies related with them. This is a technical matter," he said.

Customs is currently using the ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data), a software developed by the United Nations agency UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). It is used by the customs of more than 90 countries of the world.

According to representatives of importers, imports and exports have been affected due to slow operation of the server. Rajman Tamang, chairman of Birgunj Customs Agents Association, said that the server goes haywire for 2 to 4 hours a day and complained that it has affected import and export of goods. He says that even though all the systems have gone online, it is taking more time for customs clearance because of the ineffective technology.

Bhanu Adhikari, former joint secretary of Birgunj Customs Agents Association, said that there is a problem with the server every day especially in the afternoon. He said that they are facing hassle such as entering the details of the same form twice and customs revenue not being paid on time. He added that they have been forced to pay additional parking fee due to the delay in customs clearance.