Submit your Article

“We have paid so much in import and other tax­es, as well as in busi­ness registration and capital expen­diture,” says Surendra Manandhar, Managing Director of VMOTO Nepal, an importer of electric two-wheel­ers. “Why would we not register our scooters for a small amount?” He was responding to a recent government decision to slap a fine of Rs 5,000 on unregistered electric scooters and motorcycles plying the roads.

The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) recently announced mandatory registration for electric two-wheelers. It is in a mood for strict action against unreg­istered vehicles. “We had to take this action because we found a huge number of unregistered two-wheel­ers, especially in the Valley,” says Rup Narayan Bhattarai, Director General of DoTM. “We have thus instructed the traffic department to strictly monitor all unregistered electric vehicles”.

There are no hard data on the number of electric two-wheelers in Nepali markets. And although these vehicles have been in Nepal for a few years, their formal registration process started just two years ago. They gained in popularity during the fuel crisis precipitated by the Indian embargo in 2015. Electric two-wheelers have now become vehicles of choice for the increas­ingly environment-conscious Nepali working class for daily commute.

The department complains that importers and marketers of these vehicles are not registering them. This in turn is causing problems in data management and in making of traffic rules and regulations. For one, unregistered vehicles cannot be tracked in case of accidents and thefts.

No paper, no go

As traffic congestions become rou­tine in our big cities, and import of electric vehicles is on the rise, the department’s decision will affect many electric two-wheeler owners who are using their vehicles without proper documentation.

Manandhar, the importer, on the other hand, blames the department for lack of proper regulations and guidelines for registration of electric two-wheelers. “We have repeatedly tried to get our vehicles registered. It is the department that is apathetic to our request,” says Manandhar.

But NIU Nepal, a relatively new importer of electric two-wheelers, has already received registration approval for the two models it is importing. “We passed all the requirements and now our scooters will get number plates, just like any other two-wheelers operating in Nepal,” says Rakesh Pradhan, Senior Marketing Assistant at NIU Nepal.

If so, NIU Nepal is lucky. While the government has reduced customs (10 percent) on electric vehicles in the past few years, their regulation has not been a priority, discouraging the sales of clean energy vehicles.

The Nepal Electricity Authority for its part is planning to set up charging stations for electric vehicles at dif­ferent places to promote the use of clean energy vehicles. But all such efforts will come to a naught without clear plans and policies to make elec­tric two-wheelers convenient for end users and without supporting busi­nesses importing these vehicles.

NIC Asia Bank’s last week opened a new branch at Tilota­ma Municipality Ward 15, Kotihawa, Rupandehi. Ashok Kumar Poudel, director of Nepal Rastra Bank (Bhairaha­wa), inaugurated the branch, NIC’s 173rd. The bank will now serve its customers through 172 ATM counters and four exten­sions counters.

NIC Asia Bank is one of the largest private sector commer­cial banks in the country in terms of capital, balance-sheet size, customer base, number of branches and its ATM network. More branches are planned, says a bank statement.

 Nabil Bank is set to introduce Union Pay International QR Code Acquiring service in the country, a feature which could potentially eliminate the need for Point of Sales (POS) terminals. The cus­tomers can simply scan the QR readers at checkout counters at merchant outlets to make their payments.

When a customer scans the QR code, it transmits transaction information to the mobile app, where card details are stored and payment initiated. Through the new service, the bank intends to provide efficient and secure electronic transactions for both merchants and customers.

 NIBL Capital Markets and Ace Capital completed their merger process and launched operation as a sin­gle unit last week with ‘NIBL Ace Capital’ as the name for the consolidated unit of the two investment banks. NIBL Capital Markets and Ace Capital had initiated the merger via a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2017.

According to a joint statement, the post-merger paid-up capital of the consolidated entity stands at Rs 270 million, which is the largest in Nepali capital market industry. "NIBL Ace Capital will avail com­bined depository participant (DP) services to more than 142,000 demat account-holders. It will also provide share registrar services to 38 companies and over one million shareholders,” reads the statement from the joint entity. At present, these services will be provided through four branch offices of NIBL Ace Capital, while there are expansion plans for three more branch offices.