29 December 2020, Kathmandu
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Nepal Rastra Bank has begun planning to enforce the policy. Under this arrangement, advertising from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and other information technology, such as YouTube, Google, and online courses taken from foreign institutions can be paid for from Nepal.
As per monetary policy, Rastriya Banijya Bank will make arrangements for the online payment of any foreign service imports by the commercial bank via prepaid cards. On Monday, a Notice was released to suggest a proposed agreement prepared for this by the bank.
The department has sought suggestions and feedback from the stakeholders on the proposed arrangement issued on Monday by the end of Poush. Recently, advertising in such media has begun to increase from Nepal and has been paying through informal channels. It is handled by the NRB Department of Foreign Exchange Management.
As per the arrangement proposed by the central bank, Banijya Banks would be able to issue prepaid payment cards of up to USD 500 for the use of foreign services. It has been suggested that consumers who have made use of such a service only pay the same amount in one year.
Such cards can be issued by exchanging Nepali Rupees in the bank account of the person, firm, or company. When issuing the card, KYC (Customer Identity) information of the user concerned must be filled in and the permanent account number (PAN) of the user concerned must be taken into account.
There is a provision of advance payment of tax as per the rules while purchasing services from abroad. Arrangements are being made to prevent the use of such cards from more than one bank. Currently, debit and credit cardholders issued by banks and financial institutions can purchase up to 2,000 US dollars annually through foreign services online for the purpose of consuming within Nepal. In line with the policy issued by the central bank, commercial banks have been exchanging services from third countries for US 3,000 or another equivalent. However, there was no provision for online services. Due to the increasing use of technology, customers are using various services to make payments through bank accounts of relatives, friends abroad or through PayPal, Pioneer. Prashant Poudel, assistant director of the department, says that it is necessary to make new arrangements as digital hundi has flourished from this. Poudel said, ‘Now such payments will be made by the service recipients themselves. For this, to get a prepaid card, one has to deposit money in a commercial bank.’
The state receives no tax when it pays for relatives outside the country. It is also understood how much money is being paid by banking for these purposes. What he will do when he leaves the post is unclear at this time. The new law would make it easier for people to pay a small sum to provide foreign education and knowledge, to buy all the software and services needed for the creation, domain registration, and web hosting of products related to information technology, and to request various applications to help them stay safe.
NRB says that legalizing services online imports officialize the digital economy and promote e-commerce. The NRB has stressed that the absence of easy payments for certain services from abroad would result in capital flight, the shady backing of the state, tax losses, and the development of the shadow economy.
