The Ministry of Finance has announced plans to gradually implement this system at all customs offices.
An online valuation system has been implemented at the Birgunj Customs Office since Saturday. The system has been implemented at the Birgunj Customs Office a month after it was implemented as a trial at the Biratnagar Customs Office.
This system was implemented at Biratnagar Customs since October 20. Now, the Ministry of Finance has announced plans to gradually implement this system at all customs.
Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal inaugurated the online valuation system at Birgunj Customs during a virtual program on Saturday. Although he was scheduled to come to Birgunj on Saturday for this, his flight from Simara Airport was canceled due to bad weather.
Finance Minister Khanal said that the online valuation system has replaced the previous reference price system. He also said that work is being done to improve the customs system to facilitate trade and create an investment environment.
Stating that the system will now evaluate on the basis of bills of exchange submitted by businessmen, he also claimed that the online valuation system is reliable and business-oriented. He also said that the government is always ready to collaborate with the private sector to facilitate, secure and create an investment environment for industry and trade.
After the implementation of this system, the official bill submitted by the businessmen will be analyzed and evaluated by the online evaluation system based on a 90-day database, said Amit Tiwari, Information Officer of the Birgunj Customs Office.
Now, the details declared by the importer will be analyzed through the online system, Tiwari said, adding that the system will analyze the risk by analyzing the amount of the price declared by the importer, whether it includes freight, insurance, etc., how much the price of the item has been declared in the last 90 days, etc. Now, the system will separate the goods into high, medium and low risk levels, he said.
A value will be added to goods at high and medium risk, and if a low value is declared, a 50 percent penalty will be imposed on the added value.
The Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry had also been lobbying for the removal of the customs reference value system for a long time. The president of the association, Hari Gautam, said that the online system has now put an end to that suffering that businessmen have been facing at customs due to the reference value.
