Twenty-seven major districts in the country, including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kaski, Palpa, Kavre and 21 others in the Tarai belt, saw the registration of 10,603 new cottage- and small- industries in the first three quarters this fiscal year, compared with 5,656 for the corresponding period last year.
The sudden increase in the number of small and cottage industries registered does not necessarily mean that there was a corresponding increase in the number of small-scale ventures started. According to Gokul Prasad Dhital, acting director general of the Department of Cottage and Small Industries, the increase in the registry numbers happened because the business owners feared that the government would strictly monitor the actions of restaurants, bars and nightclubs that were running their businesses without obtaining a license.
As per the government rule, bars and restaurants that sell alcoholic beverages need to register their firms at the cottage- and small- industries offices. After this they also have to obtain a PAN (Permanent Account Number) and a license provided by the excise department. But many bars and restaurants were flouting these regulations because the government had been lax in monitoring them.
However, the drive initiated by the government in November last year to regulate unauthorized sales of alcohol made the business owners nervous. At that time, the government made it mandatory for shops selling alcohol to get a liquor license and to designate an area in their outlets solely for the sale of alcoholic beverages. At around the same time, the government also barred restaurants and bars operating in Kathmandu district from opening their shops after 11pm. A deadline of 10pm was also fixed for restaurants and bars in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts.
"All these measures worried unregistered restaurants and bars. They feared the government would also crack down on their businesses, which compelled them to register their firms," says Dhital.
Following this, Kathmandu district alone saw registrations of 3,715 new small- and cottage- industries in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Of this number, around 56 percent were registered as restaurants and bars. Throughout the last fiscal year, only 1,978 new small and cottage industries had been registered in Kathmandu district.
The trend is the same in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts. The registration of new small-scale industries went up by 31 percent in Lalitpur to 464; while in Bhaktapur 502 new small-scale industries were registered -- up 304 percent. Officials of the Office of Cottage and Small Industries in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur cited the registration of new restaurants as the main reason behind this increment.
"The same story has been repeated in major districts all over the country," says Dhital.
According to the government´s rules, businesses set up with a capital of less than Rs 30 million should register their companies as small or cottage industries.
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