China's Customs Duty Hits 144.8 Billion RMB in First Seven Months of YearDuty collected by Chinese Customs hit 144.8 billion RMB in the first seven months of this year, 26.4 billion more than the same period of last year, said deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs Zhao Guanghua Thursday.Zhao attributed the sharp increase in customs duty partly to China's improved anti-smuggling campaign. At a press conference held by the Information Office under the State Council, Zhao said that in 1998, duty collected by Chinese Customs totaled 87.9 billion RMB, and in 1999, the duty rose to 159 billion RMB, up 87 percent. Last year's figure was 224.2 billion RMB, up 65.2 billion yuan over the previous year. Zhao also revealed that 5,906 smuggling cases involving 2.5 billion RMB were exposed in customs houses across the country in the first half of this year. Compared with the same period of last year, the number of cases increased while the value involved decreased, which shows that large-scale smuggling activities have been contained. Zhao anticipated that the total duty collected by Chinese Customs this year will surpass that of last year. In July 1998, a national anti-smuggling work conference was convened in Beijing, igniting a long-term anti-smuggling campaign across the country, especially in the customs houses. |
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