Illegal trading had mostly occurred in Muse-Mandalay and Myawady-Yangon-Mandalay trade routes and the government has earned Ks21 billion from over 4,800 seizures in 2018 mini-budget period, said Deputy Director General Thein Swe from Custom Department.

The department is setting short and long terms strategic plans to control illegal trading in line with guidelines from Ministry of Planning and Finance.

“We are inspecting entries and exits in border areas by keeping border inspection camps and check-points by cooperating with respective departments and state and regional governments. Yangon has installed ten modernized x-ray machines and Muse and Myawady have three modernized x-ray machines each. The authorities seized estimated Ks56 billion worth of illegal goods in 2017-18 FY and Ks21 billion worth of illegal goods in the mini-budget period,” said the deputy director.

Some traders committed tax evasions and while some goods are legal in Myanmar, they are illegal in other countries. On the other hand, some goods are illegal in Myanmar and but are legal in other countries. Illegal trade routes are much more profitable than official trade routes and the authorities cannot fully control them as some areas remain out of the jurisdiction of the government. The companies and organizations providing services are not followed rules in trading sector, said the deputy director in a business talk which involved officials from the custom department and entrepreneurs.