NADA (NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal) has said the Nepalese automobile sector can’t afford to have a prolonged lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis. In a press statement issued yesterday, the organization has urged the government to bring a relief package to overcome the impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdown on the automobile industry. There is a need to ease the lockdown in order to keep the country’s economy afloat and to bring it back on the wheels, says NADA. The organization proposes that the government should take immediate action across the following six dimensions to mitigate the risks associated with this unprecedented crisis.

1. As per the decision of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) regarding the salary to be paid to the employees working in the automobile industry, workshop, showroom, and office, arrangements should be made to pay the minimum salary and maximum 50 percent of the lockdown period. Similarly, the wages to be paid to the workers should be paid in an equal contribution by the employers, the workers, and the government. In case the lockdown period is getting longer, it would be appropriate to postpone the payment of wages after assessing the situation.

2. Demurrage charges on vehicles and spare parts in the customs premises should be waived. Similarly, the container detention charge for containers being imported from India and third countries should also be waived 100 percent.

3. The decision to reduce the bank’s interest rate by 2 percent as per the recently published directive of Nepal Rastra Bank is positive and encouraging. In this context, the banks should also understand this responsibility and announce some exemptions from their own side. In addition, the period for paying bank interest installment should be extended up to 6 months to protect the business.

4. The provision that the amount of VAT should be paid by the 25th of Baishakh 2077 BS should be extended by the 25th of Jestha 2077 BS.

5. In order to keep the country’s economy afloat, the government should allow the business and industry to open its door for business from the 26th of Baisakh 2077 BS. Even now, if the lock-down period is extended, the industrialists and businessmen will collapse.

6. Once the lockdown opens, NADA will move forward with a security concept with the objective of informing its member companies to follow the Social Distance Guideline for the safety of their business operations.