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Nepal Rectify the Full Restriction of Import Pepper

 ipc  23/07/2020  2554

Following the Notice of Government of Nepal Chapter 69) Number 52 Nepal Gazzette Part 5 issued by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies on 29 March 2020 and came into force on 6 April 2020 which imposed full restriction for the import of peas, areca nut, dates, unwashed pepper, readymade liquor and vehicle valued more than US$ 50,000/-, the Cabinet of Nepal through the Ministry of Finance has announced the lifting of the import ban on pepper on 19 June 2020 just 4 months after the release of the Notice. The decision to lift the ban exclusively for pepper was of the recommendation of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies which of the opinion that the pepper import ban had contributed to the rise of illegal import and export of the product as well as created problems in acquiring raw materials for pepper-based industry.

However, despite the ban on importation of pepper to Nepal has been lifted, there are preconditions need to be met before pepper could enter Nepal. Pepper could only be imported in to Nepal as raw materials for industry production. The other most important condition is that the industry will only be allowed to import certain quantity of pepper upon receiving a certified approval from the Department of Industry Government of Nepal which subjected to the capacity and consumption of industries.

Though Nepal has no longer ban import of pepper, international traders need to be extra careful when dealing with import to Nepal as consignment might be denied to enter Nepal if Nepalese importers has yet to acquire the certified approval or the consignment exceeds the approved quantity. Vietnamese exporters recently were unfortunate to have their 60 pepper consignments valued around US$ 3 Million denied entry to Nepal as their Nepalese buyers didn't have the proper certified approval from the Department of Industry even when the consignment was shipped before the issuance of the ban. Therefore, they had to spend months and go through lots of hurdle just to acquire the permit to ship back to Viet Nam. Detail on the Viet Nam pepper consignment stuck in Nepal can be reviewed through the following link:

https://www.ipcnet.org/news/?p=d&id=917&pc=4&start=1
https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/government-lifts-import-ban-on-peppercorns-for-industrial-use/ img