KATHMANDU, April 18 The revenue collection at the Tatopani-Khasa customs point surpassed its annual target in just nine months of the current fiscal year, driven by an increase in trading through Nepal’s bilateral land trade route with China.

Dayanand KC, chief officer of the Dry Port Customs Office, stated that the government had set a duty collection target of Rs 5.59 billion at the customs point. As of the end of the third quarter, the customs revenue collection reached Rs 8.56 billion, according to KC.

Trade through the Tatopani customs point declined after the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015. China had blocked export trade and human movement from Nepal through this border. After eight years of disrupted bilateral trade, the border crossing was reopened for two-way operation on May 1, 2023.

KC mentioned that both trade and human movement have increased recently. However, he noted that trade has not yet reached full operation due to the poor condition of the road connecting the Tatopani border.

Meanwhile, the government fell short of its targeted revenue collection at the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung trade route in the third quarter of the current fiscal year. While the target for customs duty collection was set at Rs 14.80 billion, only Rs 13.70 billion was collected. The revenue collection during the review period was down by 8.08 percent.

The Rasuwagadhi Customs Office (RCO) has set a revenue collection target of Rs 20.99 billion for this fiscal year. With the actual revenue collection currently at only 65.26 percent of the annual target, the customs office is likely to miss its revenue collection goal for the year.

According to the RCO, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 38.53 billion via the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung trade route. Conversely, the country exported goods worth only Rs 1.53 billion to China using this border crossing.

Nepal conducts bilateral trade with China using the land routes of Tatopani-Khasa and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung. In addition to these two routes, the northern neighbor has officially announced the opening of four other border points including Yari (Humla)-Purang, Olangchunggola-Riwu, Kimathanka-Riwu, and Nechung (Mustang)-Lizi checkpoints for bilateral trade. However, these routes have not yet been operational for commercial trade.