KATHMANDU, May 17: The registration of Yatri Motorcycles, which had been halted for a long time due to the failure to show the import certificate, was finally completed on Tuesday.
On May 15 last year, Yatri Motorcycles delivered the first P-1 bike to its customer. Coincidentally, a year later on May 15 this year, Yatri's P-1 motorcycle has been registered as the first vehicle produced in Nepal. P-1 Yatri is an electric motorcycle produced in Nepal.
The P-1 bike of 'Bagmati State 02 Ba 43 Pa 8650' was registered as the first vehicle produced entirely in Nepal at the Transport Management Office, Gurjudhara. Along with this, it has become the first vehicle in Nepal to be registered without import documents.
Earlier, Yatri motorcycles could not be registered due to the confusion in the registration process of vehicles manufactured in Nepal. The Transport and Vehicles Act-2049 BS and Transport Management Work Procedure, 2060 BS which was revised in 2074 BS by the federal government stipulates that the complete customs declaration form and receipt of customs duty must be submitted for vehicle registration.
Yatri Bangmaya Award to national poet Ghimire
Now with the new amendment on the work procedure, the registration of motorcycles manufactured by Yatri has become possible. They are registered on the basis of Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill and Excise Clearance Form.
After registering the vehicle and getting the number plate and blue book, a representative of the company said, "We are forever grateful to our special users who helped us create this history."
The company has also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Department of Transport Management and all those who helped to achieve this milestone.
By adding point number '11.1.9' in the work procedure, the government declared that regardless of what is written elsewhere in the directory, the customs declaration of vehicles imported from abroad and assembled in Nepal or manufactured in Nepal is not required for the purpose of new registration, transfer of registration, alteration of registration, auction of registration, re-registration and naming of vehicles.
According to this, the Yatri P-1, which is a Nepali company, was able to register without showing the proof of opening the LC for registration.
The newly amended law states that the assembly or manufacturing company shall pay value added tax instead of the customs duty for the new registration, transfer of registration, correction of registration, auction of registration, re-registration and naming of vehicles to be assembled or manufactured in Nepal.
'Yatri Motorcycle', which has been commercially produced since 2022, stopped its production a few months ago due to lack of registration. The registration was stopped due to confusion about how to recognize the vehicles made in Nepal, what is the alternative to the notification letter required for vehicle registration, how to register the vehicle identification number (VIN), and what system will be implemented to prevent duplication of VIN number.
Although the vehicles manufactured in Nepal could complete all the documents, there was a problem in the registration process due to lack of customs declaration form. VIN is mentioned in the customs declaration form.
Vehicle manufacturers can issue such VIN numbers on the chassis and engine of the motorcycle. VIN number varies from vehicle to vehicle. For this, manufacturers must obtain approval with ISO 3780. Yatri has received such approval from America's SAE (Society of Automobile Engineers) to issue the original VIN number.
The amendment of the law has paved the way to register all types of electric and petrol-diesel vehicles made in Nepal.