KATHMANDU: Due to the decline in imports, the government has not been able to collect customs revenue as per the target set by it.

By mid-January, the customs department had set a target of collecting Rs 219 billion in revenue. However, only Rs 198 billion has been collected so far. The market could not open for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of mid-December this year, imports had reached Rs 661 billion. It had imported Rs 694 billion in the same period last year. In this way, the overall import has decreased by 4.81 percent.

Due to the inability to increase domestic production, the main source of revenue of the government is the tax levied on imported goods. However, the revenue from customs has increased compared to last year.

During the same period last year, Rs 180 billion was collected. In the same period of this year, such tax has increased by 9.1 percent and collected revenue Rs 197 billion.

The trade deficit has improved due to the decline in imports. Similarly, exports have increased slightly. Exports have increased by 6.4 percent compared to last year. The government, which had exported Rs 57 billion till December last year, has exported an average of Rs 60 billion in the same period this year.

The decline in total trade is also due to the decline in revenue. As of December last year, the trade was Rs 751 billion, but now it is Rs 722 billion.