Kathmandu. The import of electric vehicles has increased significantly amidst the government’s expectations of tax hike and concessional cuts through the budget statement for the upcoming fiscal year.
A large number of electric vehicles have been brought in by the importers from the main customs point to the warehouse house in Kathmandu. According to customs officials, a significant number of electric vehicles have been brought in from the northern border points than from the Indian side.
The demand for electric vehicles from China, which has been producing cars with relatively cheap prices and attractive designs, is high in the Nepali market.
The government has already started taking policy decisions to discourage the import of luxury vehicles (including EVs). The provision of 90 percent of the purchase price of the EV has been reduced to 50 percent. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has issued a directive to the higher purchase companies to invest 60 per cent, setting a limit of 50 per cent for such financial companies as well.
According to the Department of Customs, the number of Chinese EVs being imported from Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani customs points has increased significantly since Mid-April. Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi customs complexes are full of more than 1,000 Chinese EVs. The two customs offices have already cleared nearly 1,000 EVs in 20 days of The Month of Baishakh. Some of them were brought in mid-April and the rest before that.
According to Rabindra Prasad Pyakurel, information officer at rasuwagadhi customs office, 1,350 units of EVs have entered Nepal from Rasuwagadhi border point since April. According to him, more than 550 units of EV customs checks are yet to be passed.
Last year too, traders had brought in 5,000 EVs in the one-and-a-half months before the budget.
According to the Department of Customs, 7,958 electric cars, jeeps and vans (EV vehicles) were imported to Nepal in the nine months of the current fiscal year 2081/82 BS. Last fiscal year 2080. A total of 11,701 electric vehicles were imported in 2018, out of which 8,938 units were imported from China alone.
