KATHMANDU, Oct 15 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Nepali government, yesterday, extended an import ban on some vehicles, liquor products and other items, until mid-Dec, as the country’s foreign exchange reserves continue to dwindle.
Four wheelers, including jeep, car and van, motorcycles with an engine capacity of over 150 cc, smartphones priced over 300 U.S. dollars, and all types of foreign liquors are still fully banned, under a notice published in the Nepal Gazette.
The cabinet made the decision on Thursday, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, the minister for communications and information technology, told reporters.
As per the government’s notice, the import ban is enforced to safeguard the external financial position and balance of payments, in order to forestall any imminent threat to the economy.
The ban was first imposed in Apr, and extended later, targeting more goods, including tobacco products, diamonds, colour TV sets, larger than 32 inches, dolls, cards and snacks. In late Aug, the government relaxed the ban, barring only the entry of automobiles, expensive mobile sets and liquor products till Oct 13.
Despite the import ban, there has been no marked improvement in forex reserves, so import control has been necessary, Gunakar Bhatta, spokesman of the Nepal Rastra Bank, said.
Nepal’s gross forex reserves decreased by 1.2 percent to 9.42 billion U.S. dollars in mid-Aug, from 9.54 billion U.S. dollars in mid-July, when the current 2022-23 fiscal year began, according to the central bank.
According to the Department of Customs, Nepal’s imports declined by 13 percent to 273.59 billion Nepali rupees (2.08 billion U.S. dollars) during the first two months of the current fiscal year.– NNN-XINHUA
