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17 customs offices unable to collect targeted revenue
KATHMANDU, JUN 16 -
While the Department of Customs has been matching its overall revenue collection target for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, most of the customs offices under it have failed to meet their respective goals.
The department has collected Rs. 74 billion in revenue as of mid-June. The Ministry of Finance had revised the annual target for the department from Rs. 74 billion to Rs. 82.5 billion.
"The trend so far suggests that we'll be able to meet our collection target," said Nabaraj Bhandari, director general of the department.
The department's statistics show that of the 23 customs offices across the country, only six have met their revenue collection targets.
The customs offices meeting or exceeding their targets are Birgunj, Biratnagar, Sunsari, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Mahakali. However, other customs offices including Mechi, Tribhuvan International Airport and Tatopani fell short of their targets. Mechi Customs has been able to meet 88.77 percent of its goal while TIA Customs has been able to collect 96.36 percent of its target.
A halt in the import of coal and betel nuts through Mechi Customs has affected its collection, according to a customs official. Likewise, the collection at TIA has been hit as major telecom companies have been importing less equipment this year. Till last year, telecom companies were aggressively expanding their infrastructure.
One of the reasons behind Tatopani Customs failing to meet its target is the central bank's directive that reduced the amount of foreign exchange available to importers to make payments through bank draft or TT, said Bhandari. In April, the central bank had reduced the foreign exchange facility for importers to US$ 25,000 from US$ 50,000 after it was found that foreign exchange worth Rs. 8 billion had been sent out of the country as payment for the import of wool, garments
and electronic and other goods from Tibet.
A government investigation revealed that importers had taken foreign currency from various banks to import raw wool and other goods from Tibet but had deposited the money in various Hong Kong banks.
According to Bhandari, revenue collection at Sarlahi Customs, Krishnanagar Customs and Jaleshwor Customs suffered following the government's decision to ban the export of sand and crushed stones to India. The department earned Rs. 860 million in revenue from the export of sand and crushed stones.
Posted on: 2010-06-17 09:57
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