October 12: The government has eased the restriction imposed on the import of luxurious vehicles to some extent. The cabinet has decided to allow the import of luxurious vehicles for the diplomatic missions in Nepal.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali, who is also the government’s spokesperson, informed that the Council of Ministers had decided to allow the diplomatic missions in Nepal and other organisations that enjoy diplomatic facilities to import luxurious cars.

The government had banned the import of luxurious goods including vehicles in mid-March stating that the country’s economy was in grave danger due to coronavirus. Back then, the government had completely banned the import of vehicles that cost more than US$ 50,000.

The government had decided to ban import of such vehicles arguing that the country’s economy was badly affected due to the outflow of Nepali currency as a result of importing luxurious vehicles.

However, that decision caused problems for the diplomatic missions in Nepal and therefore the government lifted the ban for that specific purpose.

The cost of vehicles worth US$ 50,000 increases up to Rs 20 million by the time it arrives in Nepal due to high customs duty. Such vehicles were basically used by high-class businessmen and government officials.