Customs Department Collected More than US $1 Billion in Tax

Posted Jul 8, 2022 09:29 by Hun Sirivadh
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PHNOM PENH: In the first six months of 2022, the General Department of Customs and Excise has collected more than US $1.2 billion in tax, equivalent to more than 50.01% of their plan. Compared to the same period in 2021, there has been an increase of more than US $134 million dollars in tax.

The Director-General of the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia, Kun Nhim, said during a press conference on the results of tax collection on duty-free vehicles and existing import duties on Thursday morning, 7 July, that good revenue taxes are a result of the reopening of the country by the government at the end of 2021. He added that some of this revenue came from tax collection on existing tax-evasive cars in the country.

"According to the figures we have, the revenue from vehicles accounts for about 43% of the total revenue collected by the customs department," he said. "Considering collection specifically on ‘cars’, not the larger group of ‘vehicles’ because ‘vehicles’ account for more than just ‘cars’, about more than 30% of the total revenue collected by customs [was from ‘cars’]. Thus, this is an important source of revenue for the national budget that we focus on managing, suppressing [tax evasion], and performing our duties."

According to a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise, over the course of the 10-month campaign to implement tax on duty-free and tax-free vehicles, 9,753 right-hand drive vehicles came to pay taxes and deposit money to change their steering direction. From the total tax collected, 2,713 left-hand drive vehicles collected a total tax of nearly US $35 million, and more than 7,040 right-hand drive vehicles collected a total tax of over US $41 million.

In 2021, when Cambodia was experiencing a significant Covid-19 outbreak, customs revenue fell sharply. In the first six months of the year, the state collected around US $1.1 billion, a decrease of 8.9% compared to 2020, and achieved only 49% of the tax plan. However, customs revenue has improved after the Royal Government announced the reopening of the country in all areas on 1 November 2021, after Cambodia successfully vaccinated 100% of its target group.