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The lack of 'plant quarantine' at the main customs office at Madar in Siraha has affected the collection of customs revenue. Toyanath Sapkota, the chief customs officer of Siraha, said that there is a problem in the export of vegetables, food grains and fruits between the two countries, mainly between Nepal and India.
''More than one crore rupees revenue is being collected here, but due to lack of plant quarantine service, it is becoming difficult to import agricultural products produced in India through this border and to export agricultural products produced in Nepal to India,'' he said. We have to face problems, we are not able to control theft, export and import.'
Due to lack of quarantine office, on the one hand the traders are gradually getting discouraged and on the other hand, the cargo vehicles entering Nepal are queuing up for hours on the road in front of the customs. According to Chief Customs Officer Sapkota, it takes hours for the quarantine process of cargo vehicles entering Nepal, and traffic is also affected by the problem of having to park vehicles on the road. There has been a problem in the import and export of pulses, fruits, vegetables and livestock and dairy products due to Mader customs, while industries related to food, oil, flour, grains, and bakery have been affected.
Chief District Officer Vasudev Dahal says that it is a sad matter that there is no plant quarantine service due to the lack of general technical staff to check pesticides in this customs office, which collects more than 120 crores in annual revenue.
He said, 'There is no plant quarantine service at the border here, and the customs business has been affected. 90 percent of the customs' income is from the import of agricultural products. Plant quarantine service is mandatory in the district to control revenue evasion.
Since there is no plant quarantine, businessmen have to export goods through Biratnagar customs office in the east and Jaleshwar customs office in the west. According to Bikas Sarda, President of District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sirha, Lahan, who have been hit by the sharp price hike, the cost of transportation has increased when covering long distances.
He said, 'The main income of customs is agricultural products, so plant quarantine should be established here as soon as possible. After the establishment, revenue collection will increase three times compared to now. According to the Chief Customs Officer Sapkota, although efforts have been made several times by the relevant ministries and departments to solve the problem of plant quarantine, it has not been fruitful so far.
In October 2078, until further arrangements are made, a Quarantine contact point will be set up to issue permits by using the working room provided by the relevant customs office for the necessary inspection and testing of agricultural products, and one/one from Krishnanagar, Bhairahawa and Jaleshwar currently working at the said contact point. It was decided to provide one technical staff customs office to Sutholi, Maheshpur and Sirha respectively.
The very next day, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development wrote a letter to Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Center Harihar Bhavan, Lalitpur asking them to do the same. Chief Customs Officer Sapkota said that correspondence has been addressed to Quarantine Offices Jaleshwar, Bhairahawa and Krishnanagar from the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center Harihar Bhavan to implement the decision immediately.
2080 Correspondence was also sent to Customs Office Sirha, Maheshpur and Sathauli on 24th June. He said that there was a problem in service delivery since there was no arrangement for plant quarantine even after the said decision and correspondence.
