Govt allows import of alcohol, luxury vehicles

October 12, 2020, 12:01:29 PM |

KATHMANDU: The government has decided to allow the import of foreign liquor after having placed restriction on its import for around seven months.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Thursday decided to suspend the earlier decision and reopen the import of liquor from foreign countries.

Likewise, the government has also decided to allow the import of vehicles that cost $50,000. The import of liquor and luxury vehicles had been restricted from April.

The government had decided to restrict the import of expensive vehicles and liquor to keep the country’s foreign currency reserves strong.

The government had also restricted the import of pepper but it was reopened in July.

With the decision to restrict the import of expensive vehicles and liquor, the government had been losing revenue worth Rs 500 million every month.

After the government decided to impose a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it also took a decision to restrict the import of the abovementioned goods to ease the pressure on foreign currency reserves.

“At that time we were worried about the position of our foreign currency reserves,” said Finance Secretary Sishir Kumar Dhungana, adding, “But, currently foreign trade is normalizing and the flow of remittance is also strong which have made us secure.”

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplieshad taken the proposal of reopening the import of liquor and expensive vehicles to the Cabinet.

According to data of the Department of Customs, liquor worth Rs six billion was imported last year. However, very few units of vehicles costing $50,000 had been imported.

Fiscal Nepal |

Monday October 12, 2020, 12:01:29 PM |