July 18: The government has extended the ban imposed on imports of 10 different items till August 30. This has increased the prospect of smuggling of the banned goods.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki informed in a press conference held at the ministry on Sunday that the cabinet meeting on July 17 decided to extend the ban on imports of the luxury items.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply has published a notice in the Nepal Gazette on July 16 restricting the import of the ten banned items until August 30.

The Ministry has stated that it has imposed a complete ban on the import of those items from July 17 to August 30 using the authority given by Subsection (1) of Section 3 of the Export-Import (Control) Act, 2013.

Earlier, the ministry had published a notice in the Nepal Gazette dated  April 26 and banned the import of 10 different items till the end of last fiscal year (July 16). The latest move of the government has extended the ban till August 30.

This time, the government has taken stronger measures while extending the import ban. Earlier, the government had banned the import of motorcycles above 250 cc and smartphones worth more than US$ 600. Now, importers can't import motorcycles above 150 cc and smartphones worth more than US$ 300. 

Other prohibited items include chips, all types of liquor (except industrial raw materials), cigarettes and tobacco products (except industrial raw materials), diamonds (except industrial raw materials), colour televisions, jeeps, cars and vans, all types of toys. 

The government had banned the import of these items as foreign exchange reserves were dwindling.

Importers have warned that this ban will increase unauthorized trade. The Nepal Foreign Trade Association issued a statement a few days ago and requested not to extend the ban until August 30. The association claims that even if legal imports are stopped, illegal imports will grow.

Senior vice president of the association, Vinod Sethia, claims that all goods banned by the government except motor vehicles are entering Nepal through the open border in the south. 

"Motor vehicles have been stopped only because they cannot be brought here and driven without registration. Apart from that, the import of any other item has not been stopped," said Sethia. 

"They are being imported through illegal channels,” he added.

Similarly, Dhruva Thapa, president of NADA Automobiles Association, also expressed his displeasure over the extension of the restrictions on the import of vehicles. Thapa expressed his displeasure by writing a status on his Facebook page saying that the import of goods necessary for the employees to reach the office, to run industries and businesses, to transport food is listed as a luxury item and has been banned as unproductive goods.