April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The estimated revenue of Korea’s customs authorities is projected to more than double next year due to a surge in licensing fees for duty-free shops, a report said on Nov. 13.

According to the report by the National Assembly and related government agencies, the Korea Customs Service’s estimated revenue stands at 97.8 billion won (US$87.30 million) for 2018, up 118 percent from this year‘s 44.7 billion won. The estimate includes fines, forfeits, additional charges and other income.

The main reason for the sharp rise is an up to 20-fold increase in the licensing fees for duty-free stores, which accounts for 60.5 billion won, or 61 percent of the total.

Last year, the government revised a related law to jack up the fee, which had been under fire for being too low and giving big favors to operators.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)