Kathmandu, June 10 -- The government has backtracked on its earlier decision requiring people to show bank statements and fill out Know Your Customer (KYC) forms when buying or selling land or houses.

Just a week after introducing the stricter rules, the Department of Land Management and Archives amended its directive, removing the requirement for bank statements and KYC documents in such transactions.

Sources privy to the development said the new rule was revoked on the orders of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The stricter measures were introduced to curb the use of black money in land transactions and help Nepal get off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

On May 28, the department issued a directive which was purpo...