KATHMANDU: The Birgunj Customs Office fulfilled just 1 percent of its revenue collection target in the fourth month of the fiscal year as cross-border movement of goods has been virtually blocked due to an undeclared Indian embargo.
The customs office collected Rs73.9 million during the period lasting mid-October to mid-November, or 1 percent of the targeted revenue collection of Rs7.3 billion for the period. The closure of the Birgunj border has been tighter than at other border crossings. The southern neighbour has indicated that it will not lift the blockade until the Madhes issue is resolved.
Over the first four months, the customs office collected just Rs14.22 billion against the targeted amount of Rs31.14 billion. The overall target for the customs office for the year stands at Rs103 billion. The total deficit in revenue collection at the customs offices at Birgunj and the dry port amounted to Rs20 billion, according to the respective customs offices.
The Finance Ministry said that the government had lost revenue worth Rs38 billion in the last four months due to the unrest in the Tarai and the blockade. The total targeted revenue for the period was Rs130 billion, but the collection stood at just Rs92.57 billion, the ministry said.
India has maintained a trade embargo against Nepal since September 23, two days after the promulgation of a new constitution. Birgunj Customs collected only Rs2.02 billion in revenue against the target of Rs7.18 billion during the third month of the fiscal year (mid-September to mid-October). The figure represents 26 percent of the target. The customs office had met the revenue collection target only in the first month of the fiscal year.
Revenue collection started going downhill after Madhes-based parties started a sit-in at the Nepal-India Friendship Bridge in no man’s land between the two countries in the last week of September, and blocked the cross-border movement of goods.
Meanwhile, the customs office at the dry port did better in revenue collection compared to Birgunj Customs. According to Harihar Poudel, the information officer at customs office, they collected Rs3.07 billion against the target of Rs5.36 billion.
