KATHMANDU, May 20: Nepal’s tea exports to India have resumed after a nearly three-week disruption, following India’s decision to withdraw mandatory testing for every tea shipment entering its domestic market. Bureaucracy briefly did what bureaucracy does best: stopped tea at the border and called it regulation.
The breakthrough came after the Tea Board of India revised its earlier order and issued a new notice on Tuesday night, easing the compulsory sampling rule that had stalled Nepali exports since late April.
With the new arrangement, tea exported from Nepal for consumption within India will no longer require testing by the Tea Board unless India’s food safety authority or customs decides to carry out random checks under their own risk-based system. In plain terms, trucks carrying Nepali tea no longer need to stop at the border for mandatory inspection.
However, stricter rules remain for tea imported into India and then re-exported to third countries after repackaging or branding. Such consignments will still undergo compulsory quality testing under India’s February 10, 2026 standard operating procedure.
India has also shortened the testing timeline. Lab reports, which previously took up to 15 days, must now be uploaded online within five days of receiving samples.
Nepal’s acting ambassador to India, Dr Surendra Thapa, said the issue was resolved through coordinated efforts by Nepal’s Foreign Ministry and the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi.
Tea entrepreneurs welcomed the move. Nepal Tea Producers Association said the immediate obstacle has been removed, though it remains unclear whether India has permanently abandoned the rule or is preparing a new mechanism later.
India had introduced the stricter rule effective May 1, requiring each truck to pay INR 11,120 for sample testing and wait at least two weeks for results, effectively halting exports.
Tea is a major export item for Nepal. Customs data show Nepal exported tea worth Rs 3.98 billion to India in the last fiscal year. Exports had already reached Rs 2.33 billion in the current fiscal year by mid-April. Businesses now expect shipments to return to normal.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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