Rajbiraj, January 9

With heightened police surveillance along the Nepal-India border, Rajbiraj Customs Office, Saptari, has exceeded its revenue collection target in the last five months of the current fiscal.

Against its target of  30.3 million rupees, the customs office collected Rs 36.5 million in the last five months. Revenue collection has increased by more than 10 per cent.

Rajbiraj Customs Chief Rajaram Prasad Chaurasiya said revenue collection had exceeded the target in the first five months of the current fiscal.

In the last fiscal, the customs office had set the target of collecting Rs 86.9 million in revenue. The office, however, was able to collect only Rs 57.4 million.

Chaurasiya said his office would be able to collect the revenue target of Rs 86.9 million in the current fiscal. According to him, improved road condition and patrolling by personnel of the Nepali Army and Armed Police Force had led to increased revenue collection. Patrolling and surveillance to curb smuggling of goods had discouraged illegal import and export of goods and commodities, Chaurasiya added.

He described lack of resources, manpower and means as major challenges in swiftly increasing revenue collection.

Rajbiraj Customs Chief Rajaram Prasad Chaurasiya further added that the office could not yet collect the revenue as expected due to various reasons which include lack of sufficient number of employees.

“The office has quotas for nine first class non-gazetted officers. But, only five are working at present. If quarantines are managed for livestock, food items and plants, the customs office will see rapid increase in revenue collection,” Chaurasiya stated.