Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.30 / Trend , U.Ismayilov /
2009 was difficult year for Azerbaijani State Customs Committee and contributions to the public budget have not been fulfilled since 1996 for the first time, said the head of the SCC Aydin Aliyev.
"The forecast for the collection of customs taxes and duties has been fulfilled by 86 percent. The reason was reduction in imports to 1.4 billion manats in 2009," said Aliyev.
However, revenues from customs authorities to the public budget increased by over two million - to 1,112 billion mantas compared to 2008.
"The increase in revenues, in the absence of changes in customs rates, mainly related with measures taken to combat against smuggling, as well as proper management of customs clearance," Aliyev said.
On Jan. 30, official exchange rate is 0.8035 AZN/USD.