Kathmandu. Today’s meeting of the House of Representatives has passed the ‘Bill to Amend and Unify Customs Laws, 2081’ by a majority. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel had submitted a proposal for the passage of the bill.
In the discussion on the bill, MP Prabhu Sah said that the provisions in the bill presented will cause suffering to the people of the border areas. MP Sah was of the opinion that the bill should not include a provision to confiscate the private property of an individual in the name of confiscating illegally imported goods.
MP Hemraj Rai said that the effectiveness of the customs administration has been weakened due to the open border with neighboring countries. He also emphasized the need to have adequate inspection equipment and increase patrols of security personnel in the border areas.
MP Ganga Karki said that the bill would be helpful in resolving the problems faced by business people. She said that import and export would be facilitated through the bill. MP Shiva Nepali expressed confidence that the bill would promote the use of technology in customs administration.
MP Ganesh Parajuli said that a new legal system is needed to resolve the problems seen in the customs sector and that it will be easier to understand the tax and non-tax barriers that Nepal will face as it transitions from a least developed country to a developing country by 2026.
In the discussion on the bill, members of the House of Representatives including MPs Prem Suwal, Madhav Sapkota, Ranendra Barali, Kiran Kumar Sah presented their views. Responding to queries raised by lawmakers regarding the bill, Finance Minister Poudel said that the bill has been refined with amendments after sufficient discussions in the Finance Committee.
‘There have been suggestions such as ‘there should be no chaos at customs points. Businessmen should not be unnecessarily victimized. These suggestions are positive. The passage of this bill will bring about qualitative improvement in customs management. It will help promote good governance and transparency in customs administration,’ he said.
The government has submitted this bill to the House as it is necessary to amend the Customs Act to make the customs clearance process more technology-friendly and easier and to make it compatible with the Kyoto Convention, to which Nepal is a party.
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