KATHMANDU, Dec 8: Expressing their dissatisfaction over the government’s decision to lift the ban on import of luxury items, automobiles dealers said they will continue with the protests until the import restriction policies are fully removed.
The government on Tuesday decided to lift the ban on import of luxury items including automobiles to sooth the private sector which has opted for protests against the government’s import restriction policies. With the revised government policy, the automobile dealers can now import and sell the high-end cars. However, the leniency of the government could not appease the automobile dealers.
Automobile sector in crisis due to import ban
Dhruba Thapa, president of Nepal Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA), said the government’s decision will not help them revive their business back to normal time. According to him, they still have to maintain a cash margin of 50 percent while opening the letter of credit for imports.
The private sector has mainly been expressing its woes over the excessive hike in interest rates and tightening of the working capital loans by Nepal Rastra Bank. In addition, they have also asked the central bank to extend the renewal of the refinance facility for the next one year.
Thapa said the government still ignores these prime demands of the private sectors. He also urged the central bank to reduce the weighted risk of the auto loans/hire purchase to 75 percent as previously from the hiked 150 percent.
