Kathmandu, August 21

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) — the central regulatory and monetary authority — has allowed local firms and companies to avail foreign exchange facility of more than $10,000 without any approval from the regulatory bodies to pay for services of their foreign clients.

However, the central bank has made it mandatory for the concerned entities to take the approval of the central bank prior

to availing the service from foreign clients and firms.

Earlier, the concerned firm or company had to get approval from regulatory bodies like Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), among others, to avail foreign exchange facility to pay for services of foreign firms/clients.

A circular issued by Nepal Rastra Bank, today, has said that if a local firm has to avail services worth more than $10,000 from a foreign client, it must submit some documents like registration certificate, tax clearance certificate, contract or agreement signed with foreign firms/clients to obtain service, decision of the board of directors to take foreign exchange facility declaring that it will take full responsibility in case of misappropriation of the fund and bank statement of the payment.

Bhisma Raj Dhungana, the executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank’s Foreign Exchange Management Division, told The Himalayan Times that the provision that was issued today will provide foreign exchange facility to the firms directly from the central bank based on the pre-approval and documents mentioned.