KATHMANDU: The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has eased the foreign exchange rules for Nepali travellers and traders by amending its Unified Directive-2080.

With the amendment, the central bank has provided Nepalis visiting foreign countries, except India, an exchange facility of up to $2,500 per trip, on the basis of their passport. Though the Nepali citizens were allowed to withdraw $2,500 per trip earlier, the facility could only be used twice a year at most.

Similarly, the NRB has also increased the limitation for the use of money for the Nepalis having accounts and earning in foreign currency when they travel abroad to $25,000 from $15,000 in a fiscal year.

The move follows the central bank’s decision in its monetary policy that the foreign exchange facility on the basis of passport would be eased in the current fiscal year.

The revision also comes at a time when the country's foreign exchange reserves is sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports for 15 months, and merchandise and services imports for 12 and a half months.

Nepal’s gross foreign exchange reserves surged by 27.8% to Rs 1,967.19 billion in mid-June this year from Rs 1,539.36 billion in mid-July 2023, central bank’s data show.

With the reduction in import, growing remittance inflow and decline in credit expansion, Nepal’s foreign exchange reserves has continued to surge recently.

While the remittance inflow increased by 19.3% to Rs 1327.51 billion in the first 11 months, until mid-June, of the last fiscal year compared to an increase of 22.7% in the same period of the previous year, Nepal’s imports decreased by 1.8% in the review period, according to the NRB.

The revised directive has also doubled the foreign exchange facility being provided to Nepalis with visas for visiting Tibet in China and SAARC countries (except India) through land routes. 

The exchange facility has been increased up to $1,000 once and $2,000 in a fiscal year.

The provision, however, is only for the travellers. So, Nepali residents on the Nepal-Tibet border who make frequent trips to Tibet would not be able to use it.

While the members of the recruitment agencies sending up to 100 workers overseas in a year will now be eligible to get a foreign exchange facility up to $25,000 in a year, those from agencies sending more than 100 workers will be provided an exchange facility up to $30,000 in a year during their foreign visits. Earlier, the limits of the exchange facilities were $15,000 and $20,000 respectively. 

The revised directive has a provision of providing bullion traders a foreign exchange facility up to $300,000 on every import of silver for producing jewellery, artistic goods and utensils among others. Similarly, foreign exchange limit for other silver importers has been set at $100,000 per import.

The revised provision has increased the limit of foreign exchange while importing goods to $100,000 from $60,000 per import.

The central bank has also brought into implementation the announcements it had made in the new monetary policy about increasing exchange limits for Draft/Telex Transfer (TT) facilities and ‘Document Against Payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ for importing goods.

While the foreign exchange limit for Draft/ Telex Transfer (TT) facilities in the import of goods has been raised from $35,000 to $50,000, the limit for ‘Document Against Payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ has been increased from existing $60,000 to $100,000.