KATHMANDU: A delegation of Nepal Automobile Importers and Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) on Thursday met with Honorable Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Deepak Kumar Sah to discuss the impact of agency registration rules on the automobile business.

Naima has drawn the attention of the minister to the provision of 5 percent deposit to be paid to the company when registering an agency or adding a new item. The definition of ‘commodity’ is not clear in the rules and the provision to pay 5 percent deposit. Naima has said that considering different models of the same brand as different items, demanding separate deposits for each model will prevent a large amount of money from the businessman and add financial burden. Naima has requested to clarify the definition of ‘commodity’ and remove the provision of charging separate deposits for different models of the same brand. Naima has already submitted written suggestions to the ministry in this regard.

During the discussion, Minister Sah took the issues raised by NAIMA positively and said that necessary process would be taken to review the previous decisions and to make the rules related to agency registration friendly to businessmen and entrepreneurs. Expressing gratitude for the positive initiative of the ministry, NAIMA said that it is ready to cooperate with the ministry by providing necessary facts, details and suggestions during the review of the rules.

The meeting was attended by NIMA Board members Nirakar Shrestha and Udayan Kabra, Strategy and Membership Committee Coordinator Akash Golchha, representatives of NAIMA member companies Sashila Motors Pvt. Ltd., Omni Motors Pvt. Ltd., Spark Automotive Pvt. Ltd., Continental Trading Enterprises and NIMA Executive Director Raj Kumar Dulal and others.