KATHMANDU: With the new Financial Ordinance coming into effect from the new fiscal year, beer, liquor, cigarettes will be dearer.
The government, in the budget for the next fiscal year, has increased excise duty and customs duty on beer, liquor and cigarettes, while it has slashed the customs duty on the import of electric and hybrid vehicles, television assembling parts, palm oil, raw pulses and raw breakfast cereals. Telecom services will be dearer, the addition of one percent in the telecom service charge. The government has stated the amount raised from this will be deposited in the Heritage Fund.
Beer and wine made in Nepal would be costlier by 6-6.5 percent as the government has increased the excise duty on beer to Rs98 per litre from Rs92 per litre of earlier.
Excise duty on wine has been raised by Rs66 per litre, from current Rs60 per litre. The government increased excise duty on cigarettes by Rs1 per stick. The liquor will be dearer now as excise duty for liquor has been increased to Rs551 and Rs793 per litre, from Rs501 and Rs538.
The government has increased the customs duty on imported wine, brandy, whisky and vodka to Rs1,200 per litre from Rs1,000. The duty of imported cigarettes rose to Rs4.5 per stick from Rs3.5.
In an effort to promote electric and hybrid vehicles, the customs duty of electric and hybrid vehicles has been slashed by 50 percent. This has been one of the demand of the importers of electric and hybrid vehicles.
There is also a 20 percent reduction in the custom duty of television parts. Customs duty on raw breakfast cereals like oats, corn flakes and porridge has been set to 5 percent. Edible oil and pulses would be cheaper as oil and pulses industry will get 50 percent discount on raw seeds.
