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🇳🇵 Nepal /Economy & Trade

Government releases 649 impounded EVs amid budget leak suspicions

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Under investigation
  • Nepal's Armed Police Force released 649 electric vehicles suspected of exploiting leaked budget details, clearing them of customs violations.
  • The vehicles were impounded on suspicion of importers receiving insider information about upcoming customs duty changes before the budget presentation.
  • While the vehicles are released, the official investigation report remains undisclosed, and a separate batch of electric vehicles imported through another border crossing remains grounded.

Nepal's Armed Police Force has released 649 electric vehicles that were held for nine days under suspicion of exploiting leaked budget details. The BYD cars, intercepted along the Korala-Jomsom-Pokhara corridor, were freed after an internal investigation reportedly cleared them of customs violations, though the official findings have not been made public.

The cleared vehicles are currently being collected by their respective dealers.

— Bidur ChudalConfirming the release of impounded electric vehicles.

The vehicles were seized at checkpoints in Kushma, Parbat, Hemja in Kaski, and Jomsom in Mustang, shortly before the budget presentation for the fiscal year 2026-27. Allegations suggested that importers had received insider information regarding impending changes to customs duties, leading to the mass impoundment.

Bidur Chudal, chief of the Mustang Customs Office at Korala, confirmed the release process began on Saturday, with dealers collecting the cleared vehicles. A total of 774 vehicles had arrived at the Korala border, with 649 now released and the remaining 125 undergoing standard customs processing. Importers have sent representatives and drivers to collect the remaining units.

A total of 649 vehicles had completed their customs clearance before being halted at various security points.

— Bidur ChudalProviding details on the number of vehicles cleared before being stopped.

The Ministry of Finance had established two probe committees to investigate imports through the Korala and Rasuwa border points. However, the Mustang convoy was directed for release without publicizing the findings of either panel. Kishore Bartaula, Department of Customs Director and Information Officer, defended the release, stating that while suspicion is natural when large volumes of goods arrive before budget announcements, the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing and thus, commercial property could not be legally detained.

It is natural for the state to be suspicious when an unusually large volume of goods enters the country right before the budget announcement.

— Kishore BartaulaExplaining the rationale behind the initial suspicion and impoundment.

Despite the breakthrough at the Korala border, a separate group of over 200 electric vehicles imported via the Rasuwagadhi crossing remains held at Timure, undergoing administrative scrutiny. Officials at the Rasuwa Customs Office have not received orders for their release.

However, the investigation showed that all import procedures were fully compliant.

— Kishore BartaulaJustifying the release of the vehicles based on the investigation's findings.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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