KATHMANDU, July 18: Thousands of property buyers and sellers rushed to finalize land deals before higher capital gains tax rates took effect, driving Nepal to its highest-ever single-day land transaction record on the last day of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26.
According to the Department of Land Management and Archive (DoLMA), 10,968 land transactions were completed nationwide on July 16 through 136 Land Revenue Offices and six municipalities.
The surge came just a day before the government raised capital gains tax on land sales from July 17.
Balaram Kafle, the DoLMA's chief information technology officer, said the figure was the highest ever recorded in a single day.
CPN (Maoist Center) validating war-era land transactions in Ruk...
"According to our records, the transactions completed on July 16 are the highest ever. We have no previous record of more than 10,000 land transactions in a single day," Kafle said.
The record-breaking activity also translated into a revenue windfall, with the government collecting Rs 1.737 billion from land transactions on the day.
A day earlier, on July 15, the country recorded 10,182 land transactions, generating Rs 1.189 billion in revenue.
The spike in transactions was largely driven by the government's decision to increase capital gains tax from the start of the new fiscal year.
Under the revised tax structure, land held for more than five years is now subject to a 7.5 percent capital gains tax, up from 5 percent, while land owned for less than five years is taxed at 10 percent, compared to the previous 7.5 percent.
The DoLMA said property registration services are currently available not only through Land Revenue Offices but also through six municipalities—Melamchi, Shivasatakshi, Chaudandigadhi, Bhumlu, Kankai and Manohara-Kageshwari—allowing residents to complete transactions without visiting a land revenue office.
According to the DoLMA, the real estate market remained sluggish during the early months of the fiscal year but gradually regained momentum, with transactions steadily increasing after mid-September.
The DoLMA also said all land revenue and survey offices damaged during the Gen-Z protests in September last year have resumed operations. During the protests on September 8 and 9, 22 Land Revenue Offices and 14 survey offices were vandalized or set on fire. Five land revenue offices and eight survey offices were completely destroyed, while the remaining offices sustained partial damage.
All affected offices have since been restored and are back in operation, the DoLMA said.
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