Automobile industry associations NADA and NAIMA said that the government was requested to do so because the then government suddenly implemented Euro VI last July and was unable to bring in vehicles that had already been ordered.
What you should know
The government has opened the import permit for vehicles of the 'Euro 3' standard, which had been banned in Nepal. The previous government had implemented the Vehicle Pollution Standard 2082 after publishing a notification in the gazette on 20 Ashar. Along with this, 'Euro 6' was implemented for four-wheeled vehicles and 'Euro 5' for two-wheeled vehicles.
The government had decided to stop the import of vehicles with the 'Euro 3' standard in order to control air pollution. The Ministry of Forest and Environment had implemented the Vehicle Pollution Standard 2082 in the first week of Ashad last year. Along with this, the ministry's notice also mentioned that the old standard of 2069 had been repealed.
But after the formation of the new government, the cabinet meeting held on 8 Ashoja had decided to provide various facilities to the private sector to revive the economy. This is also one of those facilities.
'In the case of vehicles for which a 'proforma invoice' had been issued before the implementation of the Vehicle Pollution Standard 2082 in Nepal and vehicles 'assembled' or produced in Nepal and vehicles 'assembled' or produced using the parts necessary to produce such vehicles, the Ministry of Forest and Environment will grant permission to import vehicles or parts according to the previous standards until 15 Mangsir 2082,' the notice published in the gazette said. The Euro standard provides information about the impact of the engine of a two-wheeler, four-wheeler or six-wheeler on the environment. It also provides information about how old the vehicle is.
Many countries, including India, have already removed Euro 3 and implemented Euro 5 and 6. Among the SAARC countries, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives have also removed Euro 3. In this context, in order to protect the environment, the previous government had also implemented Euro 5 standards for light and two-wheelers and Euro 6 standards for four-wheelers. But with the coming of the new government, Euro 6 standard vehicles can also be imported until 15 Mangsir 2082.
India has stopped Euro 3 from 2020. “Vehicles of Euro 3 standards already manufactured in India are being stored, Indian traders want to manage those vehicles,” says an official of the Customs Department, “They had been lobbying since the previous government, now Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal has taken this decision.”
The government has said that it has given exemption for the import of vehicles for which a ‘proforma invoice’ has been issued. While a ‘proforma invoice’ (PI) is just a type of quotation. This means that the companies concerned had not previously opened LCs to order such vehicles.
The government has decided to allow companies that have requested PIs to open LCs to import vehicles. According to businessmen, the PI includes the name of the goods, brand and model number, if any, the name of the country of manufacture, unit price, quantity and total price, Incoterm (CIF, FOB, CFR, EXW, etc.), payment method, prescribed harmonic code number, name, address, email and telephone of the importer and exporter, and EXIM code of the importer.
Earlier, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Forest and Environment, the then Council of Ministers had decided to issue the Nepal Vehicle Pollution Standard 2082. However, the proposal to grant import exemption was not from the Ministry of Forest and Environment, but was taken to the Council of Ministers by the Ministry of Finance. When Kantipur inquired why the new government had to withdraw the decision made by the previous government three months ago, officials from the Ministry of Finance did not want to respond. They claim that various facilities have been provided for the revival of the economy and under that, the import of vehicles that were stopped at customs has been opened.
The Ministry of Forest and Environment spokesperson Shiva Kumar Wagle said that the import of purchased vehicles has been opened until November 15. ‘Businessmen had already ordered and paid for the vehicles,’ he said, ‘a short period has been set for that until November 15. When the new standards were issued, it was decided to allow Euro 3 vehicles that had already been paid for to be brought in a short period of time.’ He said that the Euro 6 standard has now been implemented and will be implemented.
The businessmen say that the government has provided import facilities until November 15 at their request. Dhruv Thapa, former president of the Automobile Association of Nepal (NADA), says that the previous government suddenly issued the Nepal Vehicle Pollution Standard 2082 without prior notice and time, so the import facility for vehicles with PIs has been demanded. ‘The government has provided import facilities only until November 15, during that period, only about 10 percent of vehicles can be imported,’ he says.
According to Thapa, businessmen had issued PEs for the import of about 12,000 vehicles before the vehicle standards were issued. Of these, 9,000 were two-wheelers and 3,000 were four-wheelers. Thapa says that those orders were left behind after the previous government suddenly banned the import of Euro 3 standard vehicles. But even though the government gave a 35-day grace period, only 10 percent of the LCs have been opened during this period, he says.
Automobile Importers and Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) President Ritsingh Vaidya said that although the government had been preparing to move to Euro 6 for the last four-five years, they were facing problems because it was suddenly implemented last Ashar. That is why they have requested the government to allow them to import old ordered vehicles.
‘If Euro 6 is suddenly announced, what will happen to the vehicles that have already been ordered? That is why, at our request, we have asked the government to allow the vehicles that have been on the road until 15 Mangsir to be brought in,' she said. 'After that, if we don't provide the facility, we will accept it.' She argues that the vehicles that were in the LC process before the implementation of Euro Six were stuck, so they were asked to open for a short time.
