Kathmandu, Dec. 10
The
government and the customs clearance agents have reached an agreement, bringing
all customs offices across the country back into regular operation from
Wednesday.
The
Customs Agents Association had announced a nationwide pen-down strike on
Tuesday, expressing objections to certain provisions in the newly enforced
Customs Act 2082. As a result, customs offices were unable to process import
and export cargo throughout the day.
Existing
laws allow exporters and importers to appoint authorised representatives for
customs clearance. However, the Association argued that the new Act had
weakened the authority of customs agents and created difficulties for
legitimate trade.
It
also objected to the provision of heavy penalties for minor human errors
committed during electronic data entry.
According
to Association's President Prachin Kumar Thaiba, the protest was withdrawn
after the Department of Customs (DoC) clarified that unintentional human errors
made during the electronic entry of goods declarations would not incur
penalties.
"The
department had also committed to facilitating certain provisions of the Act
through regulations, allowing clearance work to resume immediately," he
added.
The
DoC issued a statement on Wednesday, noting that it would gradually implement
improvements related to the Association’s demands that fall within the
department’s jurisdiction. It also stated that appropriate issues requiring
amendments through regulations would be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance
for consideration.
The
halt in customs clearance had resulted in long queues of cargo trucks at
customs points, with Indian media reporting that the disruption was beginning
to affect markets on the Indian side of the border as well.
The
Customs Act 2082, certified in September this year, came into effect on December
4.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 December 2025.
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