Grey Imports Now Illegal; Authorised Dealership Compulsory

The recently announced budget of 2078/79 B.S. has provided that only manufacturers and authorized dealers can import vehicles in Nepal. The Finance Act 2078/79 has made provision that no one other than the manufacturer and authorized seller can import vehicles in the country. This comes at a time when several units of Audi and Tesla were imported into Nepal without any authorized dealership, courtesy of the current finance act.In the current act, the government made an arrangement to exempt the vehicles that have been imported illegally at the customs by paying a fine of 30%. As of which, new vehicles purchased from the manufacturing company or its authorised distributor were allowed to sell in the Nepalese market even if there is no authorised distributor in the country. It established a legal route to import these vehicles after paying a fine.Furthermore, according to the new provision, if such vehicles are imported in violation of the condition, such vehicles and means of transportation will be confiscated by the Finance Act.