Birgunj (Parsa), May 1: Overall trade and transaction has decreased in Birgunj along with the government tightening customs. The government recently imposed a system of taxing for any goods worth more than 100 rupees brought from across the border.
The number of customers in Birgunj market has gradually increased, say businesspersons in Birgunj. “The number of customers has gradually increased in shops in Birgunj leading to a lot of improvement in business,” Jayaprakash Khetan, the owner of JP Enterprises, who has been running a clothing shop in Ardashnagar, Birgunj, said.
Likewise, Rishi Keshari, who has been running a grocery shop in Mina Bazaar, said that customers have increased in the Birgunj market since the tightening of customs regulations. “Since the tightening of customs regulations began, our business has increased by about 25 percent. If we can stop illegal trade from across the border area, we expect business to increase by 50 percent compared to before,” Keshari said.
After the Division Road Hetauda demolished the encroached structures on the main road of Birgunj, the market here has now increased in Ardashnagar and Link Road.
According to the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 1,000 traders and businesspersons have been displaced due to the road expansion. The employment of about 9,000 people has also been affected directly or indirectly.
Information Officer at the Birgunj Customs Office, Uday Singh Bista, said that informal imports will decrease as the government tightens the border area. “Informal imports from border towns are decreasing to some extent, and we expect it to be easier to control smuggling,” he said.
Tightening the border area has also helped in controlling illegal money transactions (hundi). The flow of drugs from the border area is also being reduced to some extent.
Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Hari Prasad Gautam said that the current policy of taxing goods brought from outside the country has reduced the number of people coming to Raxaul from Simara, Hetauda and Chitwan.
Armed Police Force Nepal No. 13 Battalion Headquarters Parsa, Chief and Superintendent of Armed Police Mohan Bahadur Chhetri said that efforts are being made to control illegal smuggling and export by deploying the Armed Police in the border area.
According to the Birgunj Customs Office, goods and merchandise worth Rs 694.5 billion have been imported in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The office has collected Rs 177.66 billion in revenue during the period. Similarly, goods and merchandise worth Rs 79.54 billion have been exported to various countries through this checkpoint in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
