Stakeholders Urge Government for Policy Reforms to Fix Import Bottlenecks

The Nepal Foreign Trade Association (NFTA) has urged the government to address persistent problems in the transportation of imported goods destined for Nepal.

A delegation from the association recently met with Commerce Secretary Dr. Ram Prasad Ghimire in his office to highlight concerns of the private sector, NFTA said.

According to NFTA General Secretary Jayant Kumar Agrawal, delays have occurred for several months while transporting imported goods across Indian territory. He requested the secretary to take steps to make additional rail facilities available for Nepal-bound cargo to reduce transit delays.

The association also emphasized the need to adjust customs duties and other tax rates in line with the recommendations made by the High-Level Economic Reform Suggestion Commission to narrow price gaps between Indian and Nepali markets and control the grey market.

The association further requested amendments to the Nepal–India Trade Treaty protocol to allow the import of machine and equipment parts manufactured in third countries through India.

NFTA has called for the reinstatement of the government’s suspended export cash subsidy without delay. It also urged revisions to stringent provisions in the Agency Act and stressed the need for a one-door policy for business firm renewal.

The association highlighted the necessity of simplifying processes so that once documents are submitted to one government agency, other agencies can access them online when needed.

The association also appealed to the government not to impose bans on the import of essential goods, saying that many restricted items enter the market through unauthorized border points, resulting in revenue loss, hindrance to lawful trade, and growth of illicit commerce.

NFTA voiced dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to reduce the cash transaction limit from NPR 1 million to NPR 500,000.

In response, Commerce Secretary Dr. Ghimire said a committee has been formed to study imports of various restricted commodities and submit recommendations. He assured that the government would make efforts to address the issues raised by the delegation.

The NFTA delegation was led by President Shiva Kumar Agrawal and included General Secretary Jayant Agrawal, Secretary Vishnu Kumar Joshi, and executive committee members Mayank Kedia and Akash Golcha. -- RSS