Money
Vehicle imports up nearly 8pc
Four-wheeler passenger vehicle imports (jeep, car, van) through Birgunj customs surged nearly 8 percent during the mid-July to mid-November review period to hit Rs3.81 billion, up from Rs3.53 billion last year.Shankar Acharya
Four-wheeler passenger vehicle imports (jeep, car, van) through Birgunj customs surged nearly 8 percent during the mid-July to mid-November review period to hit Rs3.81 billion, up from Rs3.53 billion last year.
According to Birgunj Customs Office records, Nepal imported 4,754 four-wheeler passenger vehicles compared to 4,225 during the same period last year. With a surge
in vehicle imports, the revenue collected has also increased to Rs7.62 billion from Rs7.4 billion. Duty collection on vehicle imports is a major source of income for the government. The government collects up to 250 percent import duty on vehicles.
Following the four month long Indian imposed trade embargo, many traders were diverted to import vehicles through Bhairahawa Customs. However, the latest data shows that imports through the Birgunj customs have started to normalise.
Over the review period, Nepal also imported 65,411 two-wheelers worth Rs5.49 billion. Last year during the same period, 48,762 two-wheelers worth Rs4.13 billion were imported. The revenue collection from two wheelers increased to Rs5.49 billion from Rs4.26 billion.
Likewise, the import of truck and mini-truck also soared to Rs928.1 million from Rs714.4 million. As a result, the revenue collection from these vehicles also increased to Rs492.1 million from Rs371.3 million.
However, the import of four wheelers such as mini-bus and pick-up plunged. The revenue collection from mini-bus import declined to Rs194.4 million from Rs375.3 million. The revenue collection from double cab pick-up was almost halved to Rs620 million while the contribution from single cab pick-up declined to Rs375.8 million from Rs546.7 million.
Birgunj is the shortest trade route to import vehicles from India and third countries. Many importers park the imported vehicles on Indian land instead of parking them on the premises of Birgunj Customs just to avoid paying parking charges. It is estimated that there are nearly 5,000 Nepal-bound vehicles parked on the Indian side, waiting for customers to book the vehicles.
Santosh Yadav, information officer at Birgunj Customs said the rise in vehicle imports could be due to surge in demand of late.
According to him, import duty on vehicles accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the total revenue collection from customs.