Kathmandu, Feb. 12 -- After the Nepal government's decision to impose an additional five percent excise duty on the import of smartphones in last year's budget, the inflow of phones has gone down comfortably. But this is nothing surprising. Everyone was unhappy regarding the government's decision. On top of the five percent excise duty, the 40 percent refundable VAT has also been taken away. So, now, importers have to pay a total of over 18 percent tax on smartphone import.

According to data from the Birgunj Customs Office, the import of phones has gone down by 50 percent this fiscal year. While the number of imports last fiscal year was about 249,280 in a period of six months, this year, the number rested at 110,700 within the same time...