The Dry Port Customs Office in Birgunj has collected Rs 40.3 billion in revenue in the first 10 months of the current Fiscal Year (FY). This marks the achievement of 60.72 percent of the target revenue despite a slowdown in the market due to an economic recession.
Dr. Ramprasad Mainali, chief of the Dry Port Customs Office, said that due to the slowdown in the overall market in the current FY, the collection of revenue was not satisfactory. “The market across the country has generally slowed down,” he said.
The Department of Customs had set a revenue target of Rs 54.27 billion for the 10-month period, but only Rs 40.3 billion was collected.
Mainali mentioned that all goods are now being transported by train to the dry port. Previously, there were three cargo trains arriving daily, but now there are only two, each carrying 60 containers.
Although the Department of Customs set an annual target of Rs 65.94 billion for the current FY, it is estimated that the Office will only collect around 70 percent of this target.
Chief Customs Officer Mainali further said that the revenue collection has also decreased due to the low import of items such as iron blades and alcoholic beverages in the current FY. “Industrial raw materials are mainly imported here, but compared to previous years, the import of industrial raw materials has declined significantly this year,” he said.
The Customs Office collected revenue of Rs 4.7 billion in mid-July of the current year. Rs 4.57 billion was collected in mid-August and Rs 4.46 billion in mid-September. The Customs Office collected Rs 3.63 billion from mid-September to mid-October, Rs 4.28 billion from mid-October to mid-November, and Rs 3.75 billion from mid-November to mid-December. The Customs Office has collected revenue of Rs 3.74 billion from mid-December to mid-January, Rs 3.62 billion from mid-January to mid-February, Rs 4.28 billion from mid-February to mid-March, and Rs 3.58 billion from mid-March to mid-April.
The Department of Customs had given the Customs Office a target of collecting Rs 67.43 billion in revenue last year, but the Office had only collected Rs 42.40 billion.
