NOC, auto dealers top importers through Birgunj Customs

BIRGUNJ, Sept 2:

More than a dozen importers paid taxes amounting to Rs 1 billion and above to Birgunj Customs Office in fiscal year 2013/14.

According to data of Birgunj Customs Office, as many as 13 firms paid more than Rs 1 billion each in taxes to the office in the review period. Six of them paid more than Rs 2 billion each.

Like in the past years, state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) topped the list by paying Rs 13.61 billion in taxes in 2013/14. During the period, NOC imported fuel worth Rs 78.14 billion from the country´s largest customs point.

NOC had paid total taxes worth Rs 12.83 billion to the customs office in 2012/13.

Sipradi Trading, which deals on Tata vehicles, Exide battery, Mak lubricants, Tata Hitachi heavy equipment as well as New Holland and Force Tractor, came second in the list paying total duties worth Rs 5.51 billion for import of products worth Rs 7.71 billion in 2013/14. The company had paid total duties worth Rs 4.80 billion to Birgunj Customs Office in 2012/13

Hansaraj Hulashchanda and Company, the authorized distributor of Bajaj motorbikes, paid total taxes of Rs 3.87 billion to the customs office in 2013/14. During the year, it imported products worth Rs 4.3 billion. The company had paid total duties worth Rs 3.35 billion in 2012/13.

Import of high-end vehicles increased during the review year, according to the data. A total of 11,450 units of vehicles in car/jeep/van segment were imported to the country in 2012/13, up by 43.54 percent compared to 2012/13. Of the top 13 importers at the customs point, six are involved in automobiles and spare parts business.

Talking to Republica, Ram Hari Aryal, customs officer at the Birgunj Customs Office, said automobile dealers are among the top taxpayers at the customs point as the government levies heavy taxes on automobiles.

Automobile dealers pay up to 225 percent duty on import of automobiles.

Birgunj Customs Office collected Rs 79.34 billion in revenue in 2013/14 which was 98.14 percent higher than the target set for the year.

Source: Republica