KATHMANDU, Feb 24: Nepal has imported 1.229 million smartphone sets worth about Rs 19 billion in the last seven months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25.
According to data from the Department of Customs, the customs duty collected on mobile phones worth Rs 18.98 billion during the first seven months of the current FY (mid-July to mid-February) amounts to Rs 3.35 billion.
According to the DoC's data, the number of such mobile sets imported into Nepal is 126,000 more than the number imported till mid-March last year. The data shows that 1.05 million smartphones were imported from mid-July to mid-February last year. According to such data, it appears that smartphones worth Rs 17.38 billion were imported into Nepal last year. The import value of such mobiles this year is Rs 1.6 billion higher compared to the previous year.
Currently, mobile phones priced between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 make up the largest share of users in the market. According to the department, the number of users in Nepal has also risen, with the increase in smartphone imports.
According to the DoC’s data, Nepal saw the highest number of mobile phone imports in mid-January to mid-February 2021. The import of mobiles worth Rs 28.38 billion in customs value from mid-July to mid-February during the year is the highest in the last five years.
In 2022, mobiles worth Rs 14.76 billion were imported, and in 2020, mobiles worth Rs 12.60 billion were imported.
Recently, due to the decrease in the import of general barphones and the increase in the import of smartphones, the price has started to increase even though the number has decreased. Five years ago, 2.6 million sets were imported in the seven months from mid-July to mid-February; however, their customs value was only Rs 12.60 billion.