775 Electric Vehicles Entering Through Korala Border Checkpoint Taken Under Control

Mustang -A total of 775 electric vehicles (EVs) that entered Nepal through the Nepal China border point at Korala have been taken under control by authorities.

The vehicles were seized during inspections conducted along roads from Mustang to Kaski between Wednesday night and Thursday morning by the Armed Police Force (APF).

According to a government official, the vehicles were detained for further investigation amid suspicions that information regarding changes in tax rates on electric vehicles announced in the national budget may have been leaked in advance.Authorities had mobilized government agencies to trace such vehicles after receiving information that customs officials, customs agents, and traders may have colluded to clear and import the vehicles before the official budget announcement.The Government of Nepal revised tax rates on electric vehicles in the fiscal year 2083/84 budget. Prior to the announcement, a large number of EVs had reportedly entered the country through various border points.

Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs said the vehicles brought through the Korala border were being transported to different districts when security personnel intercepted them following the intelligence report.An officer at APF Headquarters also confirmed that APF teams were deployed overnight along the Korala road corridor for inspections, during which the vehicles were taken under control.

The seized vehicles did not have registration number plates. Officials stated that preparations are underway to hand all the vehicles over to the customs authorities.DIG Dipendra Shah, chief of the APF’s Muktinath Brigade Headquarters, Gandaki, said an investigation into the seized vehicles is ongoing and that they will be handed over to customs after the inquiry is completed.