Gold smugglers have a free rein

Gold smuggling has heavily impacted Nepal’s legal gold trade. Traders pay around Rs 1.25m customs duty while importing a kilogram of gold. Smuggled gold hitting the market means legal traders like us can’t compete with illegal ones as smuggled gold comes cheap and entails a huge profit margin. It not only kills healthy competition but also hits the revenues.

During festive and marriage seasons, Nepal’s daily gold demand surges to 30-35 kg against the import of 10 kg. Not filling this demand-supply gap is akin to letting smugglers have a free rein.

The government should ensure the availability of gold as per the demand in the domestic market. 

While traders stay in serpentine queues for hours to get a gram of gold, smugglers readily supply gold in required quantities. As the government is silent on this matter, we have no option but to leave Nepal seeking a better future.

The author is president of  Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association