Customs clearance of imported goods has resumed after a week-long disruption, following an agreement between traders and the government to adopt a self-declaration system for maximum retail price (MRP) labeling.
The deadlock ended after the Department of Customs (DoC) permitted importers to declare the MRP of goods at customs points and attach labels later at their warehouses before distributing products to the market. The dispute had stalled thousands of cargo vehicles at major customs checkpoints across Nepal.
Department of Customs allowed the revised arrangement after traders raised concerns over the mandatory MRP labeling rule.
According to Birgunj Customs Office Information Officer Udaya Singh Bista, importers resumed customs clearance on Wednesday. He stated that traders agreed to declare the MRP at customs while completing the physical labeling process at their warehouses before the goods reach retail outlets.
The government had enforced a rule effective April 28, 2026, requiring all imported finished goods to carry MRP labels before customs clearance. Earlier, on April 13, the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection issued a public notice providing importers only 15 days to comply.
Following implementation of the rule, traders halted customs clearance operations nationwide. Major customs points, including Birgunj Customs Office, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Rasuwagadhi, Nepalgunj, and Kakarbhitta, witnessed severe congestion, with more than 1,000 containers stranded at border points.
Importers argued that the regulation was impractical because many shipments contain thousands of individual products, making labeling at border checkpoints difficult and time-consuming. Traders also cited concerns about increased repackaging and relabeling costs, along with potential demurrage and detention charges caused by customs delays.
In response, the government revised the guidelines and introduced the self-declaration mechanism for MRP labeling. Although traders initially resisted the revised provision, they eventually agreed to comply.
Bista said the Birgunj Customs Office alone collected approximately Rs 750 million in customs revenue on Wednesday after clearance activities resumed.
The government has been attempting to enforce MRP regulations for more than a decade. On September 17, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce published a notice in the Nepal Gazette making price tags mandatory for daily consumer goods.
