KATHMANDU, May 2: Customs points across Nepal have been overwhelmed with long queues of trucks carrying imported goods after traders refused to clear shipments in protest against the government’s mandatory maximum retail price (MRP) rule.
The government had made it compulsory, effective April 28, 2026, for all imported finished goods to carry MRP labels before customs clearance. The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSCP) issued a public notice on April 13, giving importers just 15 days to comply.
Dissatisfied with the rule, traders have halted the clearance of imported goods since Tuesday, when the provision came into effect. As a result, customs offices across the country—including Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Rasuwagadhi, Nepalgunj, and Kakarbhitta—have stopped clearing goods without MRP labels, leaving more than 1,000 containers stranded at border points.
More than 1,000 vehicles gathering dust at customs yard of Birg...
According to Udaya Singh Bista, information officer at the Birgunj Customs Office, importers have not processed customs clearance for the past four days. “Only petroleum products, industrial raw materials, and perishable goods such as vegetables and fruits have been cleared during this period,” he said.
Traders argue that the rule is impractical, as shipments often contain thousands of individual items, making it difficult to affix MRP labels to each product. They also point out that bulk cargo cannot be safely unpacked at border points for labeling.
Additionally, importers have raised concerns about increased costs related to repackaging and relabeling at customs, as well as potential demurrage and detention charges caused by delays in clearing containers.
In response to these concerns, the government withdrew the provision on Thursday. It revised the guidelines to allow importers to clear goods through a self-declaration of MRP instead.
An official at the DoCSCP stated that the self-declaration system is simpler, easier to implement and monitor, and ensures legal accountability without requiring physical verification at customs points.
Hari Prasad Gautam, president of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said traders remained reluctant to clear goods even on Saturday. He noted that traders are seeking assurances of better coordination from the government when revising MRP-related rules.
The government has been attempting to enforce MRP regulations for over a decade. On September 17, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce first published a notice in the Nepal Gazette making price tags mandatory for daily consumer goods.
