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Kathmandu,Monday January 31, 2000 Magh 17th, 2056.
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Smuggling
in of pashmina yarn rising
-By
a Post Reporter
CHAUTARA,
Jan 30 - After the increment in customs evaluation three times within
a year of raw wool used in the manufacture of Pasmina shawl, import of
wool through official channel has started to decline substantially.
Officials
at the Tatopani customs agree that repeated increment in the customs
evaluations has escalated smuggling of wool into the country from
Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. The volume of wool import recorded
in Tatopani customs also supports decline in the import. According to
customs figure, total wool import, which recorded 1800 kilograms in
August- September declined to meagre 210 kilograms in
November-December. Import of wool declined further in January.
Since
last May, customs evaluation has shot up by over 350 percent. Customs
evaluation increased from initial US$ 20 per kgs to US$ 50 per kgs and
eventually to current US$ 90. However, government has slashed down the
customs rate to 23.5 percent from earlier 33 percent during this
period.
Increasing
incidents of police raid also justifies the smuggling thesis. Police
has so far tracked down over 3 million rupees equivalent smuggled wool
and silk yarn since last November. Customs officials agree some
discrete incidents of smuggling but deny it as an established practice
in the last few months. " Increase in customs evaluation has
definitely prompted smuggling but a few such incidents should not be
interpreted as escalation in corruption," said Bharat Raj Subedi,
Chief of Tatopani Customs Office.
The
views of Custom’s Chief also stand a chance of truth. One of the
fundamental reasons behind the decline of import of wool is also due
to the seasonal nature of the Pashmina industry. Pashmina export to
Europe and America has also declined by 90 percent in December
compared to the earlier month. The import could have been declined
also due to substantial slash in the export of Pashmina to Europe.
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