Money
Bhairahawa collects record Rs62b revenue
The Bhairahawa Customs Office has topped the charts in terms of annual revenue collection breaking all previous records.Madhav Dhungana & Shankar Acharya
The Bhairahawa Customs Office has topped the charts in terms of annual revenue collection breaking all previous records.
Imports through the crossing increased following the Tarai unrest which led to a halt in operations of Birgunj Customs.
The Bhairahawa Customs Office collected an all time high revenue of Rs61.91 billion in 2015-2016, exceeding the target of Rs52.94 billion. In the previous fiscal year, the total collection amounted to Rs25.97 billion. “The customs office was able to be the highest collector because of the swift movements of goods during the Tarai unrest,” said Lavanya Dhakal, chief of the customs office.
During the Tarai unrest, Madhes-based parties’ repeated attempts to close down the customs office did not materialise after the custom administration, locals and security forces took a strong stance against the close down. “The administration ensured peace and security during the protest and escorted the haulers which entered through the customs,” said Dhakal.
Majority of the contribution came from vehicle imports, which accounted for 47.8 percent of the collection. Authorised dealers of vehicles like Tata, Hyundai, Maruti, Mitsubishi, and Mahindra, among others, re-routed their imports after Birgunj saw a halt in the movement of goods.
According to the custom office, jeeps, cars and vans worth Rs7.36 billion, motorbikes worth Rs6.91 billion, trucks and mini-trucks worth Rs8.24 billion were imported through the border point in 2015-16. Last fiscal’s figures stood at Rs100 million,
Rs2.3 billion, Rs100 million, respectively.
“Moreover, imports of raw materials and industrial goods also rose as the Belhiya border is nearer to Delhi,” said Govinda Paudel, officer at the customs point. “Transportation fare from Bhairahawa to Kathmandu is less compared to Birgunj to Kathmandu.”
Under-construction five star hotels and the Gautam Budhha International Airport also led to an increase in the import of raw materials.
Meanwhile, Birgunj customs failed to meet its annual collection target of Rs71.86 billion as it was only able to accumulate Rs55.64 billion in 2015-16. Although the collection targets were revised following the four-month-long border obstruction, the customs point failed to meet the target.
If there were no strikes and obstructions, the collection would exceed the previous year’s record,” said Lokraj Pant, information officer at the customs.