THE National Customs Agency chose an alternative way to present the results of its activity in 2002 by calculating the revenues it produces in monthly wages.

The revenue to the national budget in 2002 generated by the agency totalled more than 2.7 billion leva, Customs Agency executive director Assen Assenov told a news conference on Tuesday.

According to the agency's annual report for 2002, the institution had paid the equivalent of nearly 10 million average monthly wages in budget revenue.

Compared to the figure of almost 2.5 billion leva for 2001, the customs revenue was up more than 200 million leva.

Excise duty collected in 2002 exceeded the figure for the previous year by more than 34 million leva.

VAT collected was 195 million leva more than in 2001.

The amounts have been generated against the background of a weakening dollar throughout the year, from 2.20 to 2.30 leva to the dollar in 2001 down to 1.90 to 1.95 leva to the dollar last year, Assenov said.

A total of 14 327 files on customs violations were opened in 2002.

Of these, 13 996 were for trading violations and 331 for foreign currency violations. A total of

3 249 were classified as serious frauds.

Almost 38 customs violations were intercepted every day last year.

The most frequent were attempts to evade payment of customs duties, followed by trafficking of goods.

In 2002, customs inspectors foiled 39 attempts at drug trafficking. A total of 724.98 kg of drugs were seized, including 424 kg heroin, 14 354 ephedrine and amphetamine pills and psychotropic substances and eight sheets impregnated with a hallucinogenic substance.

According to Balkaninfo, an information system of the World Customs Organisation, Bulgarian customs was top of the list in 2002 in terms of seizures of heroin along the so-called Balkan Route.

The work of customs inspectors was checked 170 times in 2002, resulting in 153 officials being penalised and 36 being fired.

Assenov said that work was continuing on the formation of more mobile units. Five were in operation, and this was expected to increase to eight in late January.

Work was continuing on the formulation, with the help of Crown Agents experts, of risk profiles of importers of various groups of goods.