Approved for Release
BUILDING on the resilience and success of 2023, PNG Customs commenced the fiscal year 2024 with more determination to produce more results and achieve the targets as per 2024 National Budget projections.
Driven by its 2024 theme ‘Advancing Growth through Collaboration and Integrity’ and anchored by strong compliance management, enforcement and business process improvements, Customs continued to drive its core mandates: Border Security, Trade Facilitation and Revenue Collection, to deliver on the broader development policy agenda of the Marape-Rosso Government. These efforts resulted in Customs collecting K1,860.32 million in aggregate revenue,collections up to the end of June 2024.
This achievement is 44% of annual target against 2024 National Budget Projections of K4,250.15 million or K4.2 billion. That is working from an increased target by 13% from the 2023 National Budget target, of K3.7 billion. The Mid-Year 2024 revenue collections represent revenue growth of K264.5 million or 17%, when compared with the same period last year 2023 actual collections.
During this period Customs also facilitated K642.16 million in import duty and tax exemptions conferred by the State through project agreements, also seen as indirect investments into the economy. This was an increase of K15.01 million or 2.4% in exemptions, when compared to the same period last year, 2023. In the first half of 2024, Customs also facilitated and cleared a total of 60,991 trade entries for both imports, exports and local excise declarations.This was an increase of 6,794 customs declarations and excise entries, or 12% growth when compared with our trade performance in the first half of 2023.
This marks an improvement in economic activity and trade in the first half of 2024, as can be seen in improved Customs revenue collection and trade performance, with strong demand and consumption evident in the economy, when compared with the 2023 fiscal year.
The first half of 2024 also had its fair share of challenges, mostly orchestrated by both domestic and global headwinds which resulted in the revenue collections being 6% below projections. Customs also continue to face challenges with limited resources to effectively carrying out its border surveillance and compliance enforcement activities.
Despite these challenges Customs remains committed to perform its key mandates to sustain growth, ensure effective border security and to deliver on the broader development policy agenda, of the Marape-Rosso Government.
