Footwear entrepreneurs demand ease of customs clearance at customs point

KATHMANDU: Footwear entrepreneurs have submitted a memorandum to Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat demanding to ease the customs clearance of goods coming from China. Nepal Footwear Import Association submitted a memorandum to the Finance Minister stating that shoes and slippers imported from China have not passed customs for the past one week. The association said the country has lost a huge revenue due to illegal imports of goods through customs. Association Chairman Thaneshwar Gyawali said that the entrepreneurs who pay customs duty and import according to the law are in trouble as footwears also come to Nepal illegally from various other customs points including the Kyirong. He said the actual businesspersons are unable to compete with those who import goods without paying customs duty. Meanwhile, the importers and businesspersons have been facing problems since customs clearance could not take place at Kyirong for the past one week. Gyawali informed that in the meeting, Finance minister said that he would form a monitoring committee to investigate the issue of customs barriers and import of illegal goods. In the meeting with Minister Mahat, he said the logos of various brands that are not registered in Nepal are charged customs just like the original ones, and added the government should properly monitor this matter and pass the customs inspection at the reference price of the government. On the occasion, Naresh Katuwal, the founding president of Nepal National Federation of Entrepreneurs (NNFE), who was present at the meeting, opined that the illegal import of goods at the customs point will cause losses to the country. Further, he urged the government to stop the illegal import of footwear and the sale of fake goods. He also informed that there was an active group that manufactures and sells shoes of international brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and others without issuing bills and suggested that the government should monitor and effectively control such illegal activities. The delegation of Nepal Footwear Import Association urged the finance minister to take the initiative to reduce the customs duty that the government levies on footwear brought from China. Meanwhile, the association also demanded to cancel the provision of keeping all the details of importers and buyers, which will be implemented from the next fiscal year.