May 7 : Revenue collection has been badly affected at the Maheshpur Customs Office, the only customs office in the Nawalparasi district due to the ongoing national lockdown imposed for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The revenue collection of the office has remained virtually nil since Baisakh 1 (April 13) of the current fiscal year. According to the office, such collection was affected after the District Administration Office directed it not to collect the revenues.
In the last month of Chaitra ( March/April), the office managed to collect Rs 9.5 million as revenue in total. Of the total amount, 8.8 million was mobilised before the 11th of the month (March 24) when the lockdown was imposed and the remaining Rs 700 thousand after the very date.
Chief District Officer of Nawalparasi, Nawal Basudev Dahal, said that the import of goods was restricted from the customs point as far as practicable by considering the risk of of the coronavirus infection. In the current fiscal year, the office has a target to collect Rs 150 million in revenue but it has collected only Rs 111.8 million in revenue so far.
