If you are planning a trip to Nepal, here is some good news for you. Nepal has allowed Indian and Nepalese nationals to carry Indian currency notes of Rs 200 and Rs 500 denominations, up to a total value of Rs 25,000 per person, provided the notes were issued on or after November 9, 2016.
In a notice issued on Thursday, the Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) said Indian currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations issued before November 9, 2016, remain prohibited in Nepal.
Though the provision was first notified through the Nepal Gazette on February 11, the central bank issued a fresh notice on Thursday reiterating the rules and clarifying its implementations.
How will this move affect Indian tourists?
India is Nepal's largest trading partner and its biggest source of tourists. India and Nepal share an open border and close people-to-people ties, with thousands of tourists, pilgrims, traders and workers traveling between the two countries every year. The move is expected to make travel between the two neighbouring countries more convenient by easing restrictions on the movement of Indian currency.
Thousands of Nepalese citizens also work, study and conduct business in India. The revised rule is expected to significantly ease currency related challenges for Indian tourists and pilgrims visiting Nepal, while also benefiting Nepali medical tourists and migrant workers travelling to India.
The change addresses a long standing demand in Nepal, where restrictions on high-value Indian currency had affected tourism, particularly hospitality businesses that cater to Indian visitors.
Nepal had imposed restrictions on the use and movement of old Indian currency notes, after India had demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8, 2016, replacing them with redesigned Rs 500 notes and introducing new Rs 2,000 notes. The Rs 2,000 notes have since been withdrawn from circulation.
The NRB spokesperson Guru Prasad Paudel further clarified on Saturday that Nepalese nationals cannot bring Indian currency into Nepal from any other country other than India, according to PTI. Similarly, they cannot carry Indian currency from Nepal to a third country, except India.
The notice also said Nepalese nationals and foreign visitors can bring up to $5,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies into Nepal without making a customs declaration. Any amounts exceeding $5,000 must be declared to customs upon arrival.
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