Smuggling of betel nuts into India has increased significantly in recent days.

The police have been confiscating smuggled betel nuts almost every day for the past week. A police team on Friday confiscated around 30kg of betel nuts abandoned at Chapkaiya, Birjung. Porters usually abandon the nuts and run away as soon as they see police personnel. A porter can carry 20-30kg betel nuts.

Betel nuts are first imported from third countries and then are smuggled into India. That’s why the imports have been rising every year even as the consumption within country is low.

The customs department has hiked taxes on betel nut imports to discourage the illicit trade. From the beginning of this fiscal year, the government has been charging a flat Rs45 per kg duty on the imports. Until last fiscal year, the traders had to pay up to 30 percent customs tax and 13 percent Value Added Tax.

However, the hike in the duty has not discouraged the smugglers although the imports have come down to some extent. In the last fiscal year, Birgunj’s Sirsiya Dry Port saw imports worth Rs1.3 billion, down from the previous fiscal’s Rs2.33 billion.

Betel nuts are imported from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, among others. The demand for betel nuts in India is high, especially for the purpose of manufacturing guthka and paan masala. The imports tax on betel nuts is higher in India compared to Nepal.