Submit your Article

The government's hope to boost its revenue by taxing nearly 4,000 vehicles parked in different customs yards without clearance is being dashed with auto importers continuing to ignore the government’s call to clear their imports. Automobiles are among the highest revenue-generating imports for the government. The government expects to generate as much as Rs 8 billion once the vehicles parked at the customs yards are cleared. “We have estimated to earn Rs 7-8 billion if the imports are cleared by our customs offices,” said a senior official at the Department of Customs (DoC). “It would be a big relief for the government which is struggling to collect revenue as targeted.” The vehicles were imported based on letters of credit issued before last year's import ban, and have continued to remain parked at customs yards. Officials said the importers have not yet made any efforts to clear these vehicles even though the budget for the next fiscal year 2023/24 has already been presented on May 29. There have not been any changes in taxation on imports of fuel-based vehicles. “If the duty was hiked, those who haven't cleared their imports might have to pay more to clear the parked vehicles,” the DoC official said. However, automobile dealers said that they were forced to keep the imported vehicles at the customs yards due to the lack of demand in the market and also because of lack of bank loans for auto dealers and customers as well. Anup Baral, Managing Director of Narayani Auto Business said that the dealers could not clear the vehicles parked at customs yards because of around 80 percent slump in demands in the market, lack of availability of working capital, and high-interest rates. “Many auto dealers don’t have money to pay the high import duties at the moment,” he said. He however said that some auto dealers have started to clear a limited number of vehicles parked at the customs yards and making fresh imports lately in line with the current market demand. “People’s growing preference for electric vehicles also contributed to a decline in demand for fuel-based vehicles,” Baral added. Before the budget presentation, the customs department didn’t want to pressurize the automobile dealers to clear these vehicles in customs. “It is because we didn't want to give the impression that something is happening on the tariff to be charged on imported vehicles before the budget,” the customs official said. “Now, we plan to ask them to bring the vehicles in after completing the customs clearance process.” Auto imports declined since the government imposed a complete ban on their imports in April 2022 amid depleting foreign exchange reserves that created fear that the country would head in the direction of the Sri Lankan economic crisis. Even though the government lifted a ban on the import of vehicles among others in mid-December last year and removed all import restriction measures in January, there has not been a substantial rise in imports of automobiles. Since the import ban was lifted, Nepal imported automobiles and their parts worth around Rs 18 billion till mid-May of this fiscal year, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC). Overall imports of automobiles and parts till mid-May stood at Rs 41.27 billion, according to TEPC. During the first 10 months of the last fiscal 2021/22, Nepal imported vehicles and their parts worth Rs 86.80 billion. With auto imports slumping, it has badly affected the government revenue. With just a month and 10 days remaining before the current fiscal year ends, the government has been able to collect just over 50 percent of the annual target, according to the customs department. “DoC had an annual target of collecting Rs 668 billion but it has so far collected only Rs 342 billion,” the DoC official said.

A security guard was found dead at the under construction building of the Pashupati Area Development Trust on Tuesday. A staffer of the PADT found Dhan Bahadur Rana hanging while cleaning the premises of the office. Police reached the incident site after the staffer informed the Metropolitan Police Circle, Gaushala. The PADT said that Rana was recently transferred to the security department from the garden section. DSP Sanjeeb Babu Khadka said that the body has been sent to the Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) for post-mortem. Police said that they are looking into the case.  

With Nepal and India agreeing to establish an inter-country digital payment system, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has started preparations to bring the agreement on Nepal-India cross-border payment service into implementation within six months. The cross-border digital payment received a major boost after two countries signed a memorandum of understanding last week during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's India visit. NRB Spokesperson Gunakar Bhatt said that Nepal has started to work on its part to implement the agreement. "While it’s the Nepal Cheque House Limited (NCHL) who's been mainly working on it, the signing of the MoU has paved the way," said Bhatta. In a major step towards financial connectivity between two countries through cross-border digital payment, NCHL CEO Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan and National Payment Corporation India (NPCI) CEO Ritesh Shukla signed an MoU on June 1. According to Pradhan, the technical work related to establishing the mechanism has been started. "First, we will integrate our structure with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI)," said Pradhan. "After completing the integration process, we will roll out the services gradually." UPI is an instant digital payment system developed by NPCI. According to him, both sides are working out the details regarding instruments that can be used for digital payment, the methods of payments, and the types of transactions. Initially, the fund transfer service will be made available to ordinary consumers of both countries followed by merchant payments. "The technical discussion has begun with NPCI. After a few meetings, there will be clarity on the timeline to launch the services," said Pradhan. In the first phase, a trial run will be carried out by sending the amount from the account of Nepali Bank to the account of Indian Bank and vice versa through mobile banking. After that, payments through wallet, and QR will be implemented. NCHL is the authorized agency in Nepal by the central bank to establish and operate a national payment switch and a national payment card. The central bank, on the other hand, has also started preparations for policy arrangements on issues such as setting limits on transactions as well as service charges for cross-border payments. The implementation of cross-border digital payment services is expected to provide much relief to business people, students, pilgrims, and travelers from both Nepal and India. Once the mechanism comes into operation, citizens of these South Asian neighboring nations do not have to carry large amounts of cash while they visit between the two countries.  

The price of gold has increased by Rs 900 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 112, 500 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 111, 600 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 950 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 050 per tola. Similarly, the silve is being traded at Rs 1,420 per tola today.

The National Assembly (NA) meeting scheduled for today has been postponed for tomorrow. The meeting was called for 11: 11 am today. According to the Federal Parliament Secretariat, the meeting of the Upper House was deferred citing a special reason. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was likely to deliver speech on contemporary issues in today's meeting. Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat was scheduled to present the proposal for holding general deliberation on the estimates of the revenue and income for the fiscal year 2023/24, the Secretariat said. The meeting will be held at 11: 11 am tomorrow.  

After pushing insurance companies to consolidation, the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), the regulator of the insurance sector, has initiated a study, for the first time, to find out the 'required number of insurance companies in the country'. NIA, which is conducting the study with the technical support of Tribhuvan University. NIA forced insurance companies to go either for mergers or acquisitions by raising the minimum paid-up capital requirements for both life and non-life insurers. The regulator has increased the paid-up capital of non-life insurance companies to Rs 2bn while it is Rs 5bn for life insurance companies. The consolidation in the insurance sector has brought down the number of insurance companies over the last one year; the number of non-life insurance companies has declined to 15 from earlier 20, while the number of life insurance companies came down to 14 from 19. While the numbers have decreased, NIA wants to ascertain the required number of insurers in Nepal. The NIA Executive Director Raju Raman Paudel said that a study has been initiated to find how many companies are needed in the country. "The recent merger drive has reduced the number. However, there has been no study to exact the required number of insurance companies for the Nepali market," said Paudel, "We have started its study with the technical support of the Central Department of Economics of Tribhuvan University. NIA will adopt a policy based on the findings of the study." Given the size of the market and geography, experts say the number of insurance companies in Nepal is still more. Despite a surge in insurance companies' numbers, insurance services have not yet been expanded to rural areas of the country as insurance companies are mainly concentrated in cities and urban areas. The merger momentum in the Nepali insurance sector intensified after NIA increased the minimum paid-up capital requirements for insurers of both categories. The authority has been pushing for consolidation in the Nepali insurance sector since the new Chairman Surya Silwal took charge of NIA nearly two years ago. Though there have been successful mergers, most companies are yet to increase their paid-up capital to meet the regulatory requirement. After NIA issued the directive on paid-up capital increment, only four insurance companies raised their capital as per the regulatory requirement. Among the life insurance companies, the paid-up capital of Nepal Life Insurance Company is above Rs 5bn. Three non-life insurance companies - Shikhar Insurance, Siddhartha Premier Insurance, and Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance have also met the regulatory obligation. As the paid-up capital of the majority of insurance companies is below the regulatory requirement, NIA extended the deadline to mid-July, 2023.  

Two new smartphones from Realme have been launched in Nepal. The Chinese handset brand introduced Narzo N53 and N55 last week. According to the company, the new smartphones offer cutting-edge features, sleek designs, and powerful performance to cater to the needs of dynamic Gen-Z users in the Nepali market. The Narzo N53 is Realme's slimmest smartphone ever, featuring an ultra-slim 7.49mm body. Its slim form factor is complemented by a C-angle bezel design. The 6GB RAM of narzo N53 can be expanded up to an additional 6GB of virtual RAM, providing users with a 12GB-like experience. According to Realme, the phone comes up with a high-quality 6.74-inch screen with a 90.3 percent screen-to-body ratio. The display supports a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution, which is the highest in its price range. The phone also has a brightness of 450 nits and a touch sampling rate of 180Hz. The company claims the Narzo N53 stands out with its 33W SUPERVOOC charging, which is the fastest in the segment. This technology utilizes high-voltage, low-current charging methods for rapid charging. It only takes 31 minutes to charge up to 50 percent and 88 minutes for a full charge. The phone is powered by a huge 5,000mAh battery and incorporates top-notch charging protection systems, ensuring both fast and safe charging. The Narzo N53 comes with a powerful 50MP primary AI camera, enabling users to effortlessly capture detailed and high-quality photos. The camera supports various modes including Night Mode, Portrait Mode, HDR, AI Scene Recognition, and Bokeh Effect Control, among others. The phone also features an 8MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 large aperture. The front camera also captures excellent-quality selfies with features such as Portrait Mode, Filters, AI Beauty, and HDR. Meanwhile, the Realme Narzo N55 consists of features including a 33W fast charging, 64MP AI camera, MediaTek Helio G88 Chipset, 12 GB of Dynamic RAM, and a 90 Hz FHD+ display, making it a top pick for the segment. The phone comes with realme UI 4.0 out of the box, featuring a new "Auto Pixelate" feature that enhances user privacy by automatically pixelating profile photos and names in screenshots. According to Realme, the Narzo N55 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 processor. The phone has a 90Hz refresh rate FHD+ display and a punch-hole screen. The N55 offers a 6.72-inch full screen with a screen-to-body ratio of 91.4 percent and FHD+ resolution. The phone has a 64MP primary camera with a 0.7μm big pixel size and a 1/2" sensor size. The device also has an 8MP selfie camera and a B&W lens with a 2MP resolution on the rear. "The Narzo N53 is the slimmest entry-level all-rounder, combining a sleek design with powerful performance. On the other hand, the Realme Narzo N55 takes the smartphone experience to the next level as a next-gen powerhouse," said Munish Giri, Country Head of realme for Nepal. The Narzo 53 with a storage capacity of 4+64 GB, is priced at Rs 15,999 while the variant with 6+128 GB storage is priced at Rs 18,999. Similarly, the Narzo N55 with 4+64 GB storage is priced at Rs 20,499, while the 6+128 GB variant is priced at Rs 24,499. The Narzo N55 is available in stunning Prime Black and Prime Blue. Likewise, the narzo N53 is available in beautiful Feather Gold and Feather Black color.  

The Madhes Province government is unveiling its policies and programs for the fiscal year 2023/24 on Tuesday. Province Chief Hari Shankar Mishra is presenting the policies and programs in the meeting of the Province Assembly at 3 pm today, Ranjit Kumar Yadav, Secretary at Province Assembly Secretariat, said. The government led by Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav is bringing forth the programs aiming at sustainable, broad based and inclusive economic growth. The government was formed under Yadav's leadership on January 23.