Kathmandu, May 16: The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order suspending the government’s enforcement of customs duty on goods worth more than Rs 100 brought across border points.
A joint bench of Justices Hariprasad Phuyal and Tek Prasad Dhungana issued the order on Friday while hearing a writ petition that challenged the policy as impractical.
The petition was filed on April 27 by advocates Amitesh Pandit, Akash Mahato, Suyogya Singh and Prashant Bikram Shah from D.J.L Associates, seeking the annulment of the rule.
The petitioners had asked the court to issue an interim order preventing authorities from obstructing people from bringing essential daily goods, including food items, from across the border and from charging customs duty on such items. They also argued that materials carried for weddings and family visits should not face restrictions.
With the interim order now in place, people crossing the border will, for the time being, be allowed to bring in vegetables, medicines, clothing, and goods related to weddings and family visits without obstruction.
The controversial rule had been published in the Nepal Gazette on May 29, 2025 (Jestha 15, 2082), stating that people crossing land border points could bring personal-use items worth up to Rs 100 without customs duty, subject to the customs chief’s discretion. Anything above that threshold could be taxed.
Although the notice had been published earlier, the previous government did not enforce it, calling it impractical. In recent weeks, however, authorities had started implementing it more strictly, triggering criticism and disputes in border areas.
The petitioners argued that the policy unfairly burdened residents of the Madhes region, noting that Nepali citizens entering through Tribhuvan International Airport are allowed to bring in up to 25 grams of gold, mobile phones worth up to Rs 200,000, and television sets up to 32 inches duty-free. By contrast, border residents were being taxed for carrying goods worth more than Rs 100.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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