The Nechung Customs Office at the Nepal-China northern Korala border point in Mustang collected Rs 2.02 billion in revenue over a two-week period. This revenue was collected by the Mustang Customs Office, located at the Korala border, from the time it became fully operational on September 16 until Tuesday morning.
This is the first time in history of this customs office that such a massive amount of revenue has been collected, with a daily average of over Rs 136.6 million. Previously, the annual revenue was limited to only Rs 10 to 1.5 million from household goods imported by Upper Mustang residents crossing the border.
The significant increase in revenue is due to the rise in imports of goods and electric vehicles (EVs) through this checkpoint. The increase comes as the Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani border points are currently obstructed by floods, landslides, and river erosion.
The Korala border point, which was previously open only for border-area residents, saw a sudden surge in commercial activity after the Customs Department made it fully operational.
According to Ramesh Khadka, head of the Customs Office, out of 1,109 EVs that entered via the Korala border, 965 have completed customs clearance, with 144 still pending. Furthermore, all 375 cargo containers that imported goods have completed clearance and departed for their destinations.
Customs work has temporarily paused as staffers have left for the Dashain holiday. Nayab Subba Uttam Rai stated that regular customs operations are expected to resume on October 7 as the public holiday ends on October 4, and staffers will require two extra days to return to work.
The full operation of the Nepal-China northern Korala border has also boosted economic activity in Mustang. Tashi Norbu Gurung, Chairman of Lomanthang Rural Municipality, said that local trade is flourishing. He further shared that local residents and skilled young drivers are earning good income by loading/unloading goods at the Chinese customs on the other side and driving EVs out of the Chinese customs area.
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