KATHMANDU, DEC 30: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has instructed the Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel not to implement the policy that restricts Nepalis returning from abroad from bringing mobile phones.
The prime minister's Press Coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma said that he was instructed not to implement the new rule and to continue with the ongoing practice.
Govt postpones implementation of MDMS
Nepalis working abroad have protested using the hashtag 'No Remittance', saying that the government is going to charge 18 percent tax even if they bring a mobile phone from abroad. They started a 'No Remittance' campaign on social media.
The Nepal Telecommunication Authority has implemented the MDMS system and has arranged that the mobile phones brought in by evading customs will not be used in Nepal from December 30. According to this arrangement, if someone brings more than one mobile phone as a gift while returning from abroad, 18% customs duty will be charged and the third mobile phone will be confiscated by the government. According to the authority, this arrangement has been implemented to discourage the illegal import, sale, distribution and use of mobile sets and to further organize them and to track and block stolen and lost mobile sets.
