Businessmen have urged Commerce Secretary Ram Prasad Ghimire to take the initiative to provide more trains for the transportation of Nepali goods.
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Traders have reported that there have been delays in transporting imported goods to Nepal via Indian territory for the past few months. A team led by the Nepal Overseas Export Import Association met Commerce Secretary Ram Prasad Ghimire on Tuesday and made this complaint.
During the meeting, the businessmen requested for facilitation to resolve the difficult situation seen in supply management. The team requested the government to take the initiative to provide additional trains for transporting Nepali goods.
As per the suggestion of the High-Level Economic Reforms Advisory Commission, Jayant Kumar Agrawal, the general secretary of the association, also emphasized the need to control the gray market by adjusting customs duties and other tax rates so that there is no wide gap in the prices of goods in the Indian and Nepali markets.
The association has also requested for an initiative to amend the protocol of the Nepal-India Trade Treaty to allow the import of spare parts of machine tools manufactured in third countries from India. The association complains that due to the current provisions, in case of breakdown of machines manufactured in third countries, even the spare parts available in India cannot be brought from there, and it takes a long time to bring them from the concerned country, repair them and operate them. The association says that revenue is being lost when such goods are illegally imported through the open border even though such goods cannot be brought from India formally.
The association has also demanded that the government immediately implement the cash subsidy for exports that has been suspended by the government. Similarly, it has emphasized the need to amend the difficult provisions of the Agency Act and a one-stop policy for firm renewal.
The association has demanded that any government agency develop a system where documents can be obtained online when required by any government agency when documents have been submitted to the government agency at one place.
The association has also emphasized the need to remove the existing ambiguity regarding the maximum retail price. Similarly, they complain that the provision of the Private Firm Registration Regulation, which requires each firm to submit an annual turnover statement to the Commerce Department, is only increasing the cost of business and adding to the hassle.
The association has also urged not to impose restrictions on the import of essential items of common life contrary to the principles of an open market economy. The association argues that since the banned goods are imported illegally through the border checkpoints and sold openly in the market, this will lead to loss of revenue, halting legitimate trade, and flourishing of unauthorized trade.
The association has also expressed dissatisfaction with the government's decision to reduce the limit for cash transactions from Rs 1 million to Rs 500,000.
In response, Secretary Ghimire informed that he has formed a committee to study the ban on imports of various goods and submit suggestions. He assured that he would take all possible steps to address the issues raised by the association.
