Travel agencies seek changes in vehicle purchase policy

KATHMANDU, MAY 17: 

The government’s failure to identify and address issues concerning the travel and tour sector has hit the industry hard. 

“We have repeatedly suggested and forwarded issues that need to be promptly 

addressed but the government has always turned a deaf ear,” said chief executive officer at Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Hari Sarmah.

According to Sarmah, the association has in the past always forwarded a list of suggestions to the government along with important issues relating to the travel and tour sector but the government has not been taking the suggestions seriously. 

“As the government has not bothered to listen to 

our concerns, this year we have no suggestions and requests for the upcoming fiscal budget,” he said. 

Sarmah said that the association has been urging 

the government to support the import of new tourist vehicles and allow the use 

of red number plate vehicles during the peak tourist season. However, the government has only eased the process for Hotel Association of Nepal. 

Travel agencies have urged the government to amend the vehicle purchase policy for the purchase of tourist vehicles as the current one 

is impractical. The government has provided only a 

50 per cent discount on total customs tax. 

The government has also introduced another futile policy which states that tourism entrepreneurs can only buy tourist vehicles with a capacity of 18 or more seats and the vehicles can be resold only after 10 years.

But tourism entrepreneurs say that the period to resell the vehicles should be reduced to five years because most ‘green-plate’ vehicles are too old in 10 years. 

The transfer of ownership of such imported tourist vehicles to private ones can only be done after eight years and the name of such an agency or hotel must be written or painted on the tourist vehicle. 

Full customs duty as per the current rule will be charged, if the ownership of such vehicles is transferred before the eight-year period. But no customs duty will be levied, if ownership is transferred after eight years. “We have repeatedly requested the government to revise the vehicle purchase policy,” said Sarmah. 

Due to the high customs charges and impractical 

polices of the government, travel agents have been compelled to use tourist 

vehicles that are more than a decade old. 

Currently, apart from the hotel sector, most travel agents in the country have been forced to use tourist vehicles that are in a dilapidated condition.

Source: THT