Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz is confident the department can achieve the target even though the country still has to contend with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow compared with last year’s, which contracted by about 5.6%. This year, the GDP is expected to increase by 6.5% to 7.5%. This will be of some help in our revenue collection from the Customs Department.

“Obviously, Covid-19 does affect the collection as it is related to the economy. Last year, it did impact revenue from the Inland Revenue Board and Customs Department,” he told reporters after opening the Kedah customs office building here today.

Earlier, in his speech, Zafrul said the new customs building, which included a multipurpose hall, narcotics unit office and an enforcement store, cost more than RM40 million.

“This additional infrastructure will centralise Kedah’s customs services, which previously had to be executed from scattered locations around Alor Setar.

“With this new building, the department’s workforce can operate in a more conducive environment and offer quality service to clients.”

He said Kedah customs contributed over RM1.06 billion to the country’s coffers in 2020 and is targeting to increase it to RM1.2 billion this year.