80 state-of-the-art cars were detained at Sirsia port after the importer failed to pass the inspection

According to the data of Pristine Valley, the port management company, 12 out of 80 cars are EV Nepal Motors and the same number are Go Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. Similarly, 11 cars are Vijay Motors Pvt Ltd and 10 are Continental Trading Enterprises Pvt Ltd. 7 cars were imported by Sangrila Motors Pvt Ltd, 6 by Paramounts Motors Pvt Ltd, 4 by Master General of Ordnance.

Similarly, 3/3 were imported by Deepak Gautam & Company Pvt Ltd, Jagdamba Motors Pvt Ltd, Kuju Nepal Pvt Ltd, Pioneer Moto Kram Pvt Ltd. 2/2 cars were imported by Kishore Gears Pvt Ltd and Sakh & Company Pvt Ltd and 1/1 car by Heroine Trading Pvt Ltd and VG Impex Pvt Ltd.

Out of total 80 cars, 1 was imported in 2018/19, 1 was imported in 2020, 5 were imported in 2021, 12 were imported in 2022, 29 were imported in 2023 and 31 were imported in 2024.

Pristine Valley Accounts and Information Officer Tara Bhandari says that most of the 80 cars are imported from China. These car importers say that they have not come to pick up the car since it was parked in the port yard. "Even after importing, we cannot say exactly why the importer does not pass the inspection, this is the customs area," he said.

Recently, he said that he got the information that the Birgunj Customs Office had the importers get their vehicles inspected. He said that Pristine Valley has taken responsibility for the management of this port since 2020 and some cars have been in the port yard since then.

All the cars are placed in containers and brought from third countries. Bhandari says that after the second day of arrival at the port yard, parking fee will be charged for such cars. When such cars are parked in the yard of the port, a parking fee of 6,655 rupees per month is charged. Apart from that, if the container is kept in the container, parking fee, handling fee, and similar fees are charged if the container is kept under the open sky. Importers usually pay all the fees once they pass the inspection and get these vehicles.

The main market for new vehicles is Kathmandu, the federal capital, and after the customer orders there, the sellers usually get the new vehicles inspected from here. As most of these cars in the port yard are old models, their demand is also low.

The customs office gives 10 percent commission to the port management company from the amount received from the auction when such vehicles are auctioned. Customs Officer Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, Head of the Customs Office at the port, says that there is a legal provision that usually new vehicles kept at the customs yard are auctioned if they are not inspected within 60 days. "We have repeatedly told the importers verbally to take their vehicles," he said, "Thus, we are doing our homework to publish the information by extracting the details of those who have taken their vehicles for 60 days."