Biratnagar Customs used to be the busiest office in eastern Nepal. This customs, which is always humming with the pressure of import and export, has become slow and deserted for decades. The government has not even been able to meet the revenue target set by the government for the last five years due to the decreasing imports every year.

Chief Customs Officer Umesh Shrestha says, "We have not been able to meet the target for the past five years. The current situation is almost deserted." Since the financial year 2076/77, the revenue collection of Biratnagar Customs has started to decline. In that year, a target of revenue collection of more than 49 billion 64 million rupees was set. But only 29 billion 31 lakh rupees were collected, which is only 59.67 percent of the target.

As the collection could not be done according to the target, the government reduced the revenue target to 46 billion 149 million in the financial year 2077/78. But even that year the target was not fulfilled. Only about 40 billion 41 crore rupees were raised. However, compared to the previous year, the collection rate was slightly improved to 88.45 percent. After collecting relatively little revenue in the previous year, the government increased the target to over 49.65 billion rupees in the financial year 2078/79. But that year too only about 40.42 billion rupees were collected, which was less than the previous year. That year it was limited to 81.49 percent.

Then in the financial year 2079/80, a revenue target of more than 60 billion 35 lakh rupees was set. But the extreme economic recession after the Covid-19 epidemic had a direct impact on revenue collection. As a result, only half of the target i.e. about 33 billion 13 million rupees could be collected that year. Finally, in the financial year 2080/81, the target was again reduced to 50.81 billion.

But that year too, the collection was limited to 30 billion 34 million rupees. Chief Customs Officer Umesh Shrestha is not confident that revenue will be collected as per the target even in the current financial year. The total revenue target for this year is Rs 41.55 billion. But by the end of Baisakh, only about 27 billion 40 crore rupees have been collected. 

'Now it is very difficult to collect the target revenue in the remaining two months,' says Shrestha in a frustrated mood, 'It seems that we will have to reach 80 percent this year as well.' A customs official says that Biratnagar Customs has been facing difficulties in collecting revenue as per the target for years due to illegal transactions through the open border with India. "Trafficking has had a deep impact on the revenue collection of Biratnagar Customs," says the official, "Unless smuggling is controlled, there is no possibility of achieving the revenue collection target." From Jhapa to Sunsari, there is more than 400 km of open border. Because of this, illegal business has flourished. Goods such as alcohol, clothes, electronic materials, motorcycle parts, etc. are being smuggled through alternative routes both without bill and by evading customs duties.