August 3: Businessmen and entrepreneurs have demanded that the mandatory rules of labels on imports be postponed for the time being. Traders have been protesting since the government made importer and seller labels mandatory on imported goods from the beginning of the current fiscal year.

The office bearers and members of the Trade Committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) made such requests to Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal on Tuesday.

Subodh Kumar Gupta, chairman of the committee, informed New Business Age that they submitted a 35-point suggestion letter to the government requesting for business facilitation, which is currently problematic from all sides.

The importers claim that the arrangement of labels has created an atmosphere of confusion and discomfort among businessmen and this has affected the overall business. They said that the government is making a procedure, so they demanded a postponement of labeling until this arrangement is made.

The businessmen demanded that the private sector should also participate in such a team to make the monitoring done by the local monitoring committee transparent and effective. Gupta said that the employees engaged in monitoring should be aware of the nature and process of the items to be monitored.

They also demand that the VCTS implemented by the Revenue Investigation Department should be penalty-free. The entrepreneurs have demanded that all kinds of taxes levied by the government on transportation should be removed, the available tools should be used to stabilize bank interest rates, and export subsidies should be made available.

Industrialists and traders have also demanded that there should be a system for local-level certification of scales, removing the compulsory system of renewing measuring instruments within 30 days of purchase. They also demanded services for industries through a one-door system, a digital border security system, and a law related to loan recovery. 

Traders also urged the government to levy less customs duty on the import of raw materials. The government has also been requested to allow the importers to keep their trademarks on the imported goods.

Businessmen have expressed their objection to the problems like police stopping the trucks that have been checked by the customs.