Manufacturers will now not be required to submit import notification letter
Kathmandu, April 27
The Department of Transport Management has added a new provision in the Transport Management Procedures Guidelines 2004, removing the legal complexities faced by manufacturers and owners in the registration of domestically manufactured vehicles.
Amending the Transport Management Procedures Guidelines 2004 today, the department made special provision for registering vehicles assembled or manufactured in Nepal.
As per the new provision under section 11.1.9 of the guideline, vehicles assembled or manufactured within the country by importing parts or materials will not be required to submit import notification letter from the customs office for registration, transfer, auction, modification or re-registration purposes.
For new registration, transfer registration, alteration registration, auction registration, re-registration and naming of vehicles to be assembled or manufactured in Nepal, the assembly or manufacturing company will have to submit value added tax (VAT) bill, and an excise clearance form in the case of vehicles that attract provisions related to excise duty as per the prevailing laws.
According to Thakur Paudel, technical director at Yatri Motorcycles, the new provision has sent a positive message to domestic vehicle manufacturers and even vehicle enthusiasts.
"The new provision has not only paved the way for Yatri Motorcycles but for the entire domestic automobile industry. This is also good news for everyone who is thinking of developing a vehicle and wants to do something in the country. Although we have stopped production for quite a while now, we will be looking into resuming it and am hopeful that demand will catch up in the upcoming days," he said.
He also informed that while excise duty is charged for all kinds of products imported or domestic made, the Nepal government has not charged any excise on electric vehicles below 100 KW. "As the P-1 segment of Yatri Motorcycles are equipped with 14 KW power or 19 horsepower, they will not have to pay any excise," he informed.
Earlier, concerns were raised by domestic vehicle manufactures and citizens over the lack of proper rules and regulations in place for the registration of vehicles made inside the country. Although Section 20 of the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act 2019 for Bagmati Province mentions the registration of domestically manufactured and assembled vehicles, the protocol for submitting the import notification letter received from the customs clearance office at the Transport Management Office, Gurjudhara, for registration procedure had confused both vehicle manufacturers and government authorities.
The lack of regulations for registering vehicles manufactured within the country had led to constant friction between traffic authorities and owners of such automobiles and forced manufacturers to halt production.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
