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Started 1 week ago · Updated 1 week ago

Supreme Court Clarifies No Halt to Customs Duty, Orders Respectful Treatment

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The Supreme Court of Nepal has clarified that it did not halt the government's decision to impose customs duty on goods exceeding Rs 100. Instead, an interim order issued by Justices Hari Prasad Phuyal and Tek Prasad Dhungana directed customs officials to ensure citizens are treated with dignity and respect, in line with constitutional rights. This clarification follows widespread misleading reports suggesting the court had stopped the customs duty collection.

• The Supreme Court's interim order focuses on ensuring respectful treatment of citizens during customs inspections, not on stopping the collection of customs duties.
• The court acknowledged that imposing customs duty is a sovereign right of the state and will consider the legality of the Rs 100 threshold during a full hearing.
• The order was issued in response to a writ petition filed by advocates, including Amitesh Pandit, challenging the implementation of the customs duty on low-value goods.
• Several media outlets, including Kantipur Television and Onlinekhabar, issued corrections and apologies after initially publishing inaccurate reports about the court's decision.
• The government had begun strictly enforcing the rule to impose customs duty on goods worth above Rs 100 from April.