In his Budget speech for Nepali fiscal year 2014-15, that begins on July 16, 2014, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat has proposed special waiver of value-added tax (VAT) for readymade garment (RMG) industries.
The step is aimed at promoting the country's apparel industry as well as import-substitution.
Further, the Budget also makes it mandatory for public offices to buy domestic clothing items, even if they are costlier by 15 percent than imported goods.
In the first three quarters of 2013-14, garment exports from Nepal shot up by 46.4 percent to Np Rs. 4.018 billion (US$ 41.77 million), compared to exports of Rs. 2.744 billion made during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the data from the Trade and Export Promotion Centre.
Meanwhile, Nepal's imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories jumped by 22.33 percent year-on-year to Rs. 8.546 billion during the first nine months of 2013-14.
In fiscal year 2012-13 that ended on July 15, 2013, Nepal earned Rs. 3.824 billion from export of readymade garments, while it spent Rs. 8.99 billion on import of articles of apparel and clothing accessories.
Source:
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=165815
