Customs revenues decline by 1.3 % year

Figures released by the Higher Customs Council indicate that customs revenues reached $483.5 million in the first four months of 2012, down by 1.3 percent from $490.1 million in the same period of 2011. Revenues from the value added tax were at $512.7 million in the aforementioned period of 2012, up by 13.6 percent relative to the end of the same period of last year. Overall customs receipts reached $996.2 million in the first four months of 2012, with the Port of Beirut accounting for 82 percent of the total, followed by Rafik Hariri International Airport with 8.4 percent, the Port of Tripoli with 4 percent, and the Masnaa crossing point with 3.8 percent of the total. Total customs and VAT revenues rose by 5.8 percent in the first four months of 2012 relative to the same period of 2011. In April 2012, total customs receipts reached $238.2 million, of which $116.0 million are customs revenues and $122.2 million are VAT revenues.  From TheDailyStar