January 5: The parking fee of vehicles parked across various customs yards along with the bank interest which the  importers are liable to pay have reached almost Rs 1 billion. About 3,200 vehicles are stuck in Birganj, Bhairahawa and Rasuwagadhi customs, the major customs points of Nepal, since the government restricted the import of luxurious items.

Citing the pressure on the foreign exchange reserves, the government published a notice in the Nepal Gazette on April 26 last year and imposed a ban on the import of 10 luxurious items, including vehicles.

The vehicles stranded at the customs points had already arrived in Nepal before the restriction was imposed but the customs clearance of those vehicles has not been possible due to the ban imposed by the government.

Customs officials said that most of the vehicles stopped at the customs checkpoint were imported nine months ago while the restriction was imposed eight months ago.

The automobile dealers are at the receiving end due to the government’s policy. 

Dhruba Thapa, president of NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal (NADA), informed New Business Age that on one hand banks and financial institutions are continuously increasing the interest rates after releasing the money for the purchase of vehicles, and on the other hand, they are forced to pay high parking fees for the vehicles stuck at the customs points for 8/9 months.

NADA said that out of 3,200 vehicles stuck at the customs points, about 3,000 are imported by NADA-affiliated businessmen.

The traders have been paying high parking fees for the vehicles stuck at the customs checkpoint, along with heavy interest on Rs 5 billion spent on imports.

Thapa also said that auto traders are currently paying up to 12 to 15 per cent interest on Rs 5 billion spent on vehicle imports. In this period of 8 to 9 months, the importers are liable to pay around Rs 500 million in interest. Similarly, he said that the average parking fee for 3200 vehicles at the rate of Rs 518 per day for 6 to 9 months has reached almost Rs 350 million.

He said that even though the government lifted the ban on import of vehicles this January, they are still unable to obtain customs clearance due to lack of credit from banks.

In other words, it seems that the interest and parking fee expenses of the auto traders for the last 8/9 months have reached around Rs 850 to 900 million.

Among the imported vehicles, the maximum number of vehicles (2002) are stuck at the Birgunj customs. Similarly, 1100 vehicles are stranded at Bhairahawa while the remaining vehicles imported from China are stuck at Tatopani and Rasuwa customs.