The Birgunj Customs Office informed that diesel import has fallen by 9.41 percent in the first four months of current fiscal year.
Revenue has also dropped by 15.16 percent with the decrease in diesel imports. In the four months of the fiscal year 2081/82 BS, a total of 246,719 kilolitres of diesel worth Rs 21.84 billion was imported. In the same period of the last fiscal year, diesel worth Rs 30.17 billion was imported.
Chief Customs Administrator Deepak Lamichhane said the fall in import of petroleum products, vehicles and raw materials has affected the revenue collection.
Diesel is imported from Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline and petrol is imported through tankers.
Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal (FCAN) President Rabi Singh said the import of diesel has come down as the construction sector has come to a halt till mid-November this year.
"The government needs to revive the construction sector. If not, capital expenditure will not increase. Similarly, 142,865 kilolitres of petrol worth Rs 12.42 billion was imported in the four months of the current fiscal year. In the same period of the last fiscal year, 129,126 kilolitres of petrol worth Rs 13.18 billion was imported.
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