KATHMANDU, Jul 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Nepali government is extending a complete ban on the import of 10 types of products till the end of Aug, as the country still struggles against a dwindling foreign exchange reserve.
As per the notice published in Nepal Gazette yesterday, mobile phones priced over 300 U.S. dollars and motorcycles with an engine capacity of over 150 cc, shall be barred entry till Aug 30, along with liquor, tobacco products, diamond, color TV sets larger than 32 inches, jeeps, cars and vans, dolls, playing cards and snacks.
The ban, first imposed in late Apr, should have run till Jul, when the current fiscal year ended.
The government notice said, the ban is enforced to safeguard the external financial position and balance of payments, in order to forestall any imminent threat to the economy.
“As there has been no improvement in foreign exchange reserves, the government currently has no other options but to impose a ban on non-essential goods, which had contributed to the outflow of foreign currencies,” Keshav Acharya, a senior economist, told Xinhua.
“Despite its impact on revenue, we cannot let the country slip in the direction of Sri Lanka, by allowing unrestricted import of goods,” he said.
As of the first 11 months of the 2021-22 fiscal year, that ended on Saturday, Nepal’s forex reserves had decreased 19.6 percent to 9.45 billion U.S. dollars from 11.75 billion dollars, in mid-Jul 2021, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.
The central bank data show, there had been a slight improvement in the inflow of remittances, the largest source of forex earnings for Nepal, during the same period.– NNN-XINHUA
