August 5: The revenue collection of Biratnagar customs office has started to grow after India lifted ban on import of palm oil. Earlier, the revenue collection was less than the target.

In the first month of the Fiscal Year 2078/89, the customs office collected Rs 3.349 billion against its target of Rs 2.891 billion, which is 115.82 percent more than the target. Earlier, customs office had not been able to meet the target of revenue collection due to restrictions on palm oil and also due to the impact of coronavirus.

Chief Customs Officer Shiva Prasad Bhandari said despite the improvement in revenue collection last year, the target was not met.

Soybean oil worth Rs 2.83 billion and palm oil worth Rs 821.6 million were exported in August, said customs officer Amit Tiwari. According to him, 4.3 million liters of palm oil worth Rs 821.6 million was exported in August.

India had banned the import of palm oil from Nepal on April 12, 2008. After about 14 months, India opened the import of palm oil on July 3, 2020. The export of palm oil from Biratnagar customs began with the start of the new fiscal year.

According to the customs office, 41,357 tonnes of palm oil worth Rs 4.50 billion was exported to India from Biratnagar in the fiscal year 2075/76. The demand for refined soybean oil had increased after the ban on palm oil, which also boosted the revenue. In August, 13,075,111 kg of refined soybean oil worth Rs 2.83 billion was exported to India.

The customs office imported 4.3 million liters of unrefined palm oil worth Rs 801.09 million last month. Similarly, 17.14 million liters of soybean oil worth Rs 2.74 billion has been imported.

The export of soybean oil is increasing, according to the customs office. In the fiscal year 2075/76, 9,993 tonnes of soybean oil worth Rs 1.65 billion was exported from Biratnagar. In the Fiscal Year 2076/77, altogether 31,423 tons of soybean oil worth Rs 4.26 billion was exported.

In the last Fiscal Year 2077/78, a total of 90,310 tons of soybean oil worth Rs. 15.67 billion was exported. Nepal's industrialists are exporting sunflower, soybean and palm oil at zero percent customs duty under the SAFTA agreement. Indian customs levies a 5 percent GST on all three types of oil.