JHAPA, Feb 11: Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat visited the Mechi Customs Office, Kakarbhitta, Bhadrapur Customs Office and the Inland Revenue Office, Bhadrapur in Jhapa on Sunday.
The minister inspected the offices and held interactions with the local business communities during his visit to Jhapa to attend the inaugural session of the 15-day Fifth Damak Festival organized by the Damak Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Talking to media persons following the inspection, Minister Mahat instructed the customs offices to focus on meeting the monthly revenue targets.
The minister also insisted on combined efforts among the customs offices, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the revenue offices to control cross-border smuggling of goods. He said that the nation's income depends on the size of revenue collection.
"The nation's income will reduce if the revenue collection decreases and a fall in the revenue collection will hamper the government's investment in education, health and other public service sectors," he said, urging one and all to contribute to preventing the revenue leakage.
Mechi Customs Office's customs officer, Ram Prasad Regmi, apprised the minister about a declining trend of revenue collection. He said that the Kakarvitta point is not a priority of the government though it serves as one of the major transits along the Nepal-India border.
During the minister's visit to Bhadrapur Customs Office, Bhadrapur municipality mayor Ganesh Pokhrel and the business community urged the minister to give attention to the improvement of the office's physical infrastructure and provide a budget to compensate those whose land was acquired for the official use by the customs.
RSS