Kathmandu. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has directed the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to operate their banking services related to customs clearance during the Tihar festival, except on the day of Bhai Tika.
Issuing a circular to the banks and financial institutions of class ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, the central bank urged them to facilitate trade, continuity the supply chain and flow of essential services. There is a risk that the long holidays during the festival season will affect revenue collection by stopping the clearance of goods at the customs points and the supply of goods and services in the market will be hampered. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issued this directive to the banks at the special request of the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Customs.
The directive will help ensure unimpeded entry of festive goods and other essential goods, especially imported from China and India. Earlier also, the banks were open for customs clearance on holidays except the Dashain Tika (Bijaya Dashami) day.
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has also introduced a real-time gross settlement system used for high-value payments and essential payments. The RTGS system was operated from 10 am to 4 pm today.
RTGS is a fast, secure and large payment system used to transfer money from one bank to another. Its operation will continue to manage the liquidity of the banking system and facilitate essential interbank transactions even during holidays.
This decision of the Rastra Bank will prevent the economic activities from coming to a complete standstill even during the public holiday. This will play an important role in ensuring the availability of goods in the market for the general consumer by protecting traders from delays in customs clearance.
