May 4: The deposit needed compulsorily for obtaining Exim Code (importer- exporter code) will be reduced by more than half from the start of the next fiscal year starting July, 2017.

The government which has decided to implement exim code has released information to traders requesting them to receive the code from the Department of Customs before this.

The deposit amount was reduced to Rs 300,000 from Rs one million as traders did not show their interest in it as expected.

According to Ram Sharan Chimoriya, Director General of the Department of Customs (DoC), all the traders need to receive the exim code for import-export of goods from the government under the Customs Act- 2007 from the first month of the FY.

The traders, who were saying that investment can increase due to high deposit amount, have now welcomed it. “The deposit amount has been decreased to achieve the aim of smooth running of foreign trade, to make it legal and to address the demands of entrepreneurs,” the Department said.

The department assumes that exim code will be helpful to reduce the expenditure of load/unload in customs point and to facilitate the coordination with government bodies.

Similarly, the deposit amount was reduced by the department with an aim to provide exim code in an easy way to all types of export-imports trade.

According to Jaya Siwakoti, President of the Customs Agent Federation of Nepal (CAFN), and executive member of FNCCI,  the provision of exim code is welcome but the process to receive exim code needs to be further simplified.