PESHAWAR, Dec 1: The customs collectorate, Peshawar, recorded a total revenue of Rs2.1bn during the first five months of the current financial year under the heads of customs duty and sales tax on imports reflecting an improvement by over 15 per cent in comparison with the revenue collected in the corresponding period last financial year.

The collectorate received Rs123m sales tax on imports and Rs246.5m as customs duty in November bringing the total amount received, so far, during the current financial year under the two heads to Rs784.7m and Rs1269.9m respectively.

The revenue raised this time around, according to official sources, appears to be some Rs320m more than what had actually been raised in the corresponding period last financial year.

At the close of the first five months of the 2000-01 financial year the collectorate had raised a total of Rs1733.81m, whereas this time around a collective sum of Rs2054.6m has been raised under the heads of customs duty and sales tax on imports.

Improvement in revenue collection has been attributed to greater number of imports made by the NWFP manufacturing sector.