May 14: The import of alcohol has immensely increased after the government lifted the ban on the import of luxury goods. The Department of Customs informed that 468,626 liters of alcohol worth Rs 791 million was imported in four months after the ban was lifted.

Last year, the government published a notice in the Nepal Gazette on April 26 and banned the import of 10 luxury items including alcohol due to the decline in foreign exchange reserves. Now that the reserves are restoring back to normalcy, the government lifted the import ban from mid-December.

After the ban was lifted, 40,343 liters of alcohol worth Rs 83.24 million from mid-December to mid-January, 121,908 liters worth Rs 284.6 million from mid-January to mid-February, 85,151 liters worth Rs 142.3 million from mid-February to mid-March and 221,143 million liters worth Rs 281.6 million from mid-March to mid-April.

Many people have been surprised by the fact that a large amount of alcohol is imported from abroad in a short period of time when enough alcohol is produced within the country. Besides, the question surfaced as to why Nepali people use so much foreign liquor instead of domestic liquor.

Ravi KC, the producer of domestic Vodka brand 8848 said, “Since there is no significant difference in the price of domestic and foreign liquor, customers may prefer foreign brand. It is difficult to produce the raw materials needed for alcohol in Nepal due to legal complications. On top of that, the government has increased the rate of excise duty on the import of raw materials. In this case, the price of domestic and foreign alcohol is almost similar.”

According to KC, the reason for importing large quantities of liquor is the ban that has been in place for a long time. He said that the importers may have stocked a large amount of liquor due to the suspicion that the ban may be imposed again. However, government officials say that quality and brand play an important role in increasing the import of foreign liquor. Officials argue that the market for foreign liquor will increase as domestic liquor cannot compete with foreign liquor in terms of quality and the brand is not established.

Urmila KC, joint-spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies says that businessmen have not discussed the issue of legal complications in the production of raw materials required for alcohol with the ministry.

“Industrialists and businessmen need to submit an application to the ministry about the problems faced by them. The industrialists also need to explain what caused the problem, what is expected from the government and how the solution can be done,” she said, adding, “After the industrialists put their point clearly, the ministry will consider the matter in a thorough manner.”

She also said that ultimately the industrialists should work harder for the production and market expansion of raw materials and alcohol.