The General Department of Customs and Excise’s tax income collection in 2023 is expected to reach only about 83 percent of the yearly plan, due to the implementation of the free trade pacts with partner countries and the decline of imports. At the dissemination forum on "Trade Facilitation Measures under Customs Jurisdiction", organised at the National Customs School in Phnom Penh on Dec. 25, H.E. Kun Nhim, Minister Attached to Prime Minister and Director General of the GDCE, said that this is not the first time that GDCE’s tax collection cannot meet the target, recalling the diminution of customs revenues in previous years - 2020 and 2021 - due to the global economic crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. “For 2023, the decline of customs income is partly due to reforms, easing tariff rates on major commodities, decreasing imports, and the implementation of free trade agreements with bilateral and multilateral partners,” he explained. The GDCE director general went on saying that free trade with partner countries has caused Cambodia to lose about US$400 million in tax revenue per year as the Kingdom has exempted and reduced tariffs on some types of goods imported from partner countries, while the country has been exempted from import duties to those countries as well. “The decrease in customs revenue this year did not affect the growth of the Cambodian economy or cause any challenges to the GDCE. In contrast, this indicates that Cambodia has significantly reduced its imports and expanded its ability to export goods,” he said. GDCE plans to collect 11,137 billion Riel (approximately US$2.7 billion) in tax income in 2023. More than US$2.6 billion tax income was earned in 2022, an 18.3 percent increase compared to 2021. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse