Kathmandu, September 19

The government has postponed its earlier plan of fixing maximum retail price (MRP) of some imported goods from September 28 this year considering the difficulties the importers are facing due to the ongoing protest in the Tarai region.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, Director General of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) Shambhu Koirala said that considering the request of the importers, the government has put its earlier decision on hold for a month.

“Due to the ongoing protest in the Tarai region, supply has been affected as the imported goods are stranded at the border points,” explained Koirala.

Earlier, the government had planned to fix MRP of all types of food items, medicines and medicinal equipment and some electronic goods before Dashain festival in a bid to safeguard consumers.

Once the government fixes the MRP for the respective commodities, importers would need to disclose the upper price limit of the commodity at the customs point and the government would issue a public notice regarding the maximum price of respective commodities.

The government had already fixed MRP of 11 commodities a few years back.However, traders were reluctant to disclose the MRP saying that it is against the principle of free market economy.

As per Koirala, the DoCSM has held series of meetings with the organisations of private sector — Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Nepalese Industries and Nepal Chamber of Commerce — to implement the MRP on certain commodities to protect consumers from being victimised due to over-pricing.

“The private sector organisations requested to postpone the decision for some time citing the protest of Tarai that has hiked up the import cost,” said Koirala, adding, “After Dashain, the DoCSM will consult with the private sector organisations and fix the MRP of food items, medicines and medicinal equipment and some

electronic equipment.”