Chinese-made BYD electric vehicles that had been stranded at the Jomsom and Korala checkpoints along the Nepal–China border over suspected irregularities in customs procedures have been allowed to continue to their destinations.
According to Armed Police Force (APF) Nepal’s Company 33 in Jomsom, the vehicles were released on Sunday and handed over to the respective owners.
A total of 775 BYD electric vehicles entered Nepal through the Korala checkpoint during the last week of May and the first week of June. Of these, the Mustang Customs Office in Nechung completed customs clearance for 649 vehicles. However, the APF later took the vehicles under control after raising concerns over possible irregularities in the import process.
All the vehicles had been imported from China by Simon Electric.
To investigate the matter, the Ministry of Finance formed a three-member committee led by Bhupal Raj Shakya, chief of the Evaluation Section under the Policy and Operations Division of the Department of Customs. Following an on-site inspection, the committee submitted a preliminary report concluding that there was no indication of irregularities in the import process.
Based on the findings, the authorities released the vehicles and handed them over to the concerned parties on Sunday evening, according to APF Deputy Superintendent of Police Bheshraj Giri.
