Does any trader dare to invest crores of rupees to import the goods that are being banned by the customs, like other goods? Of course not. But an incident that happened at Tatopani Customs on Sunday has raised a strange question.

Last April, the National Health and Communication Center under the Ministry of Health sent a letter to the customs offices to stop the import of vape products in accordance with the Tobacco Products Control and Regulation Directive-2071. Even though the letter was sent in April, it is seen in the data of the customs department that vape was imported from various ports until last December. Till November of the current financial year, 119 kg of vape worth 1 million 64 thousand rupees has been imported. 

Last Sunday, Silk Transport informed the Tatopani customs staff that a container of vape had been imported. Based on the information, the customs officials stopped the said container . There were 980 cartoons in it. In which each carton contains from one and a half to two hundred vape . The market price of vape is on an average from 1 thousand to 3 thousand rupees. More than 150,000 tons of vape imported at one time are now under customs surveillance. But the question has arisen whether illegal vape can be kept under customs surveillance.

86,000 pieces of vape were seized from Silk Transport's warehouse in Imadol last December. In that case, two employees of the warehouse have been released from prison with a bank guarantee of 20 crores. Tatopani Customs Chief Kamal Kumar Bhattarai said, "We have been kept safe as the transport informed us and brought them in." If it is possible to pass the test, we will take the revenue and leave. The process proceeds according to the rules that do not match.'  

Due to the lack of clarity among the intergovernmental bodies about the import of electric cigarettes (vape), large quantities of vape are being imported one after the other. Earlier, small quantities of vape were seized by smuggling. However, the question of why the businessmen tried to import vape worth millions of regular goods while knowing that the inspection of vape was stopped based on the instructions of the Ministry of Health, has not been answered.

The Ministry of Finance and Commerce has not given a clear answer to the question whether vape import is legal or illegal, and government confusion regarding vape import has become public. Customs officials say that even though the import of vape has been stopped based on the letter of the Ministry of Health, there is still a dilemma whether to auction or destroy the seized vape . Finance Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyay said that he would get information from the Director General of Customs as he did not know much about this matter.

Customs officials say that they cannot pass the VEP inspection without a written order from a higher authority. Director General of Customs Department Mahesh Bhattarai says that VEP should be considered illegal as the entry has been stopped based on a letter from a government agency. Last May, the Ministry of Health sent a letter to the relevant authorities to stop the import and trading of tobacco products. Based on the letter written by the Ministry's National Health and Communication Center mentioning the provisions mentioned in the Tobacco Control and Regulation Directive-2071, vape importation has been stopped. 

'Import goods that do not pass customs inspection can be imported into Nepal by informing the customs?' Director General Bhattarai said that he has instructed the Tatopani customs to investigate the case of customs passing by putting vape in the container.  He said, "Because the customs found out somewhere that the importer is trying to protect his goods, it is also investigated." But in such a situation, why would the businessman have taken the risk of millions of dollars? Director General of Customs Department Bhattarai said that an investigation will be conducted on this matter. 

In the last fiscal year, vape worth 303 million 38 million was imported from Tatopani Customs. From that  According to customs, 194.3 million revenue has been collected. Last year, about 60 million worth of vape was imported from Rasuwa customs . 3 crore 81 lakh 17 thousand revenue was collected from Rasuwa. But there was a sudden break in the vape import which was booming . Then started the series of illegal imports . According to the Ministry of Health's letter, vape import has been blocked, but vape is being sold openly in the market.

The police seized 19,000 pieces of vape that entered through the Corolla border last December and prosecuted the case. Last July, 450 pieces of vape were seized from the main gate of Birganj customs to be taken to India. At that time, 1,502 vape were recovered from Indian citizens in Birgunj. Last December, Revenue Investigation Office Butwal also seized 13 cartons of vape .