Kathmandu, March 27: Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle wasted no time settling into his chair and then promptly started clearing the legal clutter. Within hours of taking the oath at Sheetal Niwas on Friday, he ordered the repeal of 15 laws long blamed for slowing down economic activity.
After formally assuming office at the Finance Ministry, Wagle pushed ahead with removing a list of acts widely seen as outdated, restrictive, or simply not built for a modern economy. The decision targets rules that have complicated investment, tied up businesses in paperwork, and raised costs for years.
Among those struck off are the Income Ticket Duty Act, the Black Market and Certain Social Offences and Punishment Act, the Private Forest Nationalisation Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act. Several others dealing with compensation, revenue leakage, currency circulation, and financial intermediation have also been removed, along with laws that limited foreign investment and controlled export smuggling.
Wagle framed the move as a reset, aimed at making the system easier for businesses to operate in. His focus is simple: cut red tape, bring in investment, and make the private sector feel like it is not constantly being punished for existing.
The decision follows a campaign promise by the Rastriya Swatantra Party to scrap outdated legislation. The party had argued that clearing such laws would lower production costs, simplify procedures, and make Nepal more attractive to both domestic and foreign investors.
Wagle said the government will focus on protecting private enterprise, generating jobs, and boosting local production. He also pointed to upcoming reforms based on recommendations from key economic review bodies, which sounds reassuring if you enjoy committees trying to fix what previous committees could not.
He added that the government plans to move toward paperless and cashless systems, while promising better coordination among institutions, since apparently working together is still a new idea in governance.
A white paper on the broader reform agenda is also on the way, presumably to explain how all of this will work in practice, or at least to convince people that it might.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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