With the aim of increasing revenue collection, the government is strictly enforcing the rule that customs duties must be paid on goods worth more than Rs 100 imported from India, but customs offices remain closed.
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Only 2 of the 11 small customs offices in Parsa and Bara under Birgunj Customs are operational. With the aim of increasing revenue collection, the government is strictly implementing the rule that customs duty must be paid when importing goods worth more than Rs 100 from India, but the customs offices are closed.
Only Thori in Parsa and Matiarwa in Bara are currently operational. Piparpati, Simraungarh, Kawahi and Kachorwa small customs offices in Bara have been closed for a long time. Similarly, Sirsia, Bhishwa, Alau, Gadh Prasauni and Jankitola small customs offices in Parsa have also been closed. Security personnel have tightened the border for the past 2 weeks. There are not only Birgunj, the main border checkpoint in the country, but also many checkpoints in rural areas. The small customs offices have had to be closed due to lack of staff. As the small customs office remains closed, Nepali consumers along the border are facing problems in bringing goods from India after paying customs duty.
Most of the border markets with small customs offices have now been transformed into large markets. A large number of Nepalis return from there to shop in Indian markets every day. The government is also losing a large amount of revenue daily due to the lack of a customs office at the border.
Even if importers want to bring goods after paying the tax, they cannot do so. The residents of Simraungarh small customs office, which was closed after the Corona pandemic, had staged a protest to reopen it. However, the customs office is also not regular.
One deputy sub-inspector and one office assistant have been deployed in the currently operating small customs offices. Krishna Prasad Mainali, Chief Customs Administrator of Birgunj Customs Office, says that there is a policy of closing small and small customs offices. ‘Opening customs in villages increases smuggling,’ he said. ‘In doing so, the main customs also becomes weak. There is a policy of operating small customs posts in only 1-2 places and assigning the remaining small customs posts to the Armed Police Force deployed for border security.’
He said that operating small customs posts cannot be done by just arranging employees. He said that since the customs also has to operate the computer system, bank, food and animal quarantine, etc., it is not possible to operate small customs posts.
