June 18: The Department of Passport will begin issuing passports from the respective districts at a reduced fee of Rs 5,000 starting from June 18.

Previously, passports were provided by the district administration office for Rs 10,000, but now they will be available for Rs 5,000, according to Durpada Sapkota, spokesperson of the department.

Henceforth, obtaining a passport from the respective district will cost 5,000 rupees, while acquiring it from the department in Kathmandu will be priced at 12,000 rupees.

Additionally, in the case of lost or damaged passports, the fee will be Rs 17,000 if obtained from the Department and Rs 10,000 rupees if obtained from the concerned district, added spokesperson Sapkota.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers held on June 7 had decided to offer a 66-page passport at the same price as the 34-page passport. Previously, the Department of Passport provided the 66-page passport to frequent flyers for Rs 10,000 through the district administration office.