Government Amends Law To Register 'Made-In-Nepal' Vehicles; Yatri Breathes a Sigh of Relief

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has FINALLY opened the way to register 'Made-in-Nepal' vehicles. Issuing a statement today, the ministry has amended the Yatayat Byawasthapan Karyawidhi Nirdeshika, 2060, to accommodate indigenously produced and assembled vehicles.Also, companies and vehicles that bring parts and raw materials from abroad and assemble vehicles in the country and manufacture vehicles including all the parts will also get registration. According to the notice, a customs declaration letter (LC) is also not required for such registration.Earlier, there was no provision for registration of ‘Made-In-Nepal’ vehicles in the amendment Transport Management Guide (Yatayat Byawasthapan Karyawidhi Nirdeshika, 2074). In sub-section 2 of section 11, it was mentioned that a customs notification letter and customs fee are mandatory for new vehicle registration. It was stated in the regulation, "For the certificate of vehicle registration, it is mandatory to submit the complete customs declaration form and the receipt of customs duty payment.”The legal inconsistencies and the lack of objectively defined policies complicated the registration requirements for Yatri Motorcycles as there was no provision for the registration of ‘Made-In-Nepal’ vehicles in the law.Dedicated to transforming the urban mobility landscape, Yatri Motorcycles was founded in 2017 to prove world-class electric vehicles can be designed, engineered, and manufactured in Nepal. Yatri currently offers the P1 dual-sport electric motorcycle in the Nepalese market. The P1 is fitted with a 3.0 kWh battery that takes less than 6 hours to charge at home while it will fully charge within an hour with a fast charger.  The peak power of the P1 comes in at 14 kW (approximately 19 hp) and the maximum wheel torque is 480 Nm. The claimed top speed is 100kmph and the company boasts of a power-to-weight ratio comparable to 250cc motorcycles.Yatri even provided buyers with the option of configuring their own motorcycles. Customers had the option to choose the Colour (Paint, Seat and Suspension finish), Power Pack (Base and Boost), Performance Braking (Base and Stoppie), and Digital Startup Pack (Base and Digital). The pricing varied according to these parameters.Also Read: Roadblock For ‘Homegrown’ EV Makers; Outdated Policies Show Why.