The strike by customs agents began at Birgunj Customs on Sunday. On the second day, Monday, Bhairahawa Customs remained completely closed, and on the third day, Tuesday, all customs offices across the country were closed.
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All customs clearance work has come to a standstill at all customs offices across the country. Customs agents have been protesting at the offices after the Customs Agents Federation Nepal called for a pen-down.
The Federation has blocked customs services across the country in protest against some provisions of the Customs Act, 2082, which came into effect on November 21, 2082. According to the Federation, the provisions of the new act, rather than facilitating international trade and customs procedures, have created a situation that discourages the professional rights of customs agents, industry and business, and legitimate trade.
Since the drafting stage of the Customs Act, 2082, the Federation had been demanding the inclusion of issues such as penalties, license renewal, suspension process, bank guarantee, user-ID management in computer systems, in-cut-out note system, and limiting goods inspection to licensed customs agents. However, the Federation has alleged that the enacted act has added unnecessary penalties and fines and increased discretionary powers.
The Federation has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Customs Department regarding the continuous delays in customs clearance, server problems in the customs automation system, revenue payment and quarantine complications, but the problem has not been resolved.
The pendown movement began at Birgunj Customs on Sunday. On the second day, Monday, Bhairahawa Customs remained completely closed, while on the third day, Tuesday, all customs offices across the country were closed, informed the Federation's central member Umesh Ghimire.
The suspension of customs clearance has directly affected revenue collection from customs offices across the country. Ghimire informed that the Federation is preparing to make the protest program public on Tuesday if the problems created by the new Customs Act and the demands related to the profession are not addressed.
