The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed corruption charges against four individuals, including the former head of the Biratnagar Customs Office, Tara Prasad Sapkota. The case alleges that goods imported from China were undervalued during inspection, their quality was misrepresented, and the appropriate revenue was not collected as required by law.
Those charged alongside Sapkota include customs officer Nawakul Sharma, Dev International owner Sher Bahadur Basnet, and customs agent Sharan Kumar Kharel. The authority claims that during the clearance process for goods brought in by Dev International, the accused attempted to underpay duties by undervaluing the shipment and misrepresenting its quality.
Initially, the notification letter registered in the Asycuda system was allegedly deleted to conceal the discrepancies. However, regular monitoring and surveillance by the Customs Department eventually uncovered the irregularities, according to Narahari Ghimire, the authority’s spokesperson.
Following investigations by committees formed by the Customs Department and the Finance Ministry, Sapkota, then the head of customs, reportedly collected additional revenue from the company implicated in the scheme.
The notification filed by the authority states that if the proper revenue had been assessed, the government would have received an additional Rs 84,55,605. The corruption case alleges that this amount was wrongfully withheld through the accused’s actions.
