PM Inaugurates New General Department of Customs and Excise Building

Posted Dec 23, 2021 13:33 by Yuri Matoszko
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PHNOM PENH: This Thursday morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen has presided over the inauguration ceremony of the new new office building of the General Department of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The date coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of customs administration of Cambodia. In addition to the inauguration of the administration building, the ceremony has also been linked to the inauguration of the National Customs School and the Customs Museum, which has been under renovation.

The 35-storey administrative building of the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia was officially inaugurated on Thursday morning under the high presidency of the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

The new building started construction in February 2017 and completed in July 2020. It is 120 meters high, 54 meters long and more than 26 meters wide.

With the budget of $33 million, the GDCE’s new office building is composed of offices, meeting rooms, canteen, fitness club, sauna rooms and a sky bar on its top.

The General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia was established during the Sangkum era by the Royal Kram dated back in 1951.

During the Khmer Rouge regime, between 1975 and 1979, the operation of the General Department of Customs and Excise was suspended. The unit resumed operations on July 1979 under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce.

However, it was transferred under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance through a sub-decree dated in March 1988.

The Customs and Excise Office was established as the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia through a sub-decree in 2008.

Now, with its new office building, the Cambodian Customs and Excise Administration Building not only enhances the image of state institutions and provides a suitable, but it also shows the progress of the Kingdom under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen after the remnants of the flames of war, with the Prime Minister strongly supporting modernization of the national sovereign services

At the inauguration ceremony, Hun Sen said the GDCE and the General Department of Taxation (GDT) are the two major institutions representing the sovereign services of the nation.

The Premier expressed his firm stance to protect these sovereign services and oppose any attempt to interfere in them, revealing that some foreign experts had recommended Cambodia to sell the custom services to private company under custom service reforms.

In addition to the inauguration of the administration building, the National Customs School and the Customs Museum have also been inaugurated.

The Construction of the National Customs School began in October 2019 costing $9,5 million. It was completed in October 2021, set at the OCIC development area, Khan Chroy Changva, Phnom Penh. It 12 floors, reaching a total area of 20,000 square meters.

The Customs Museum building was renovated in August 2020 and completed in November 2020, costing $350,000 dollars.

During the ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen has delivered strong messages regarding untaxed vehicles on the roads, as well as regional matters, such as his position to maintain Myanmar’s seat at the ASEAN group.

The Premier has also spoken regarding the Director General of the General Department of Customs and Excise, Kum Nhim, expressing his command of postponing Kun Nhim’s retirement.