How to Export from Nepal: Documents, Certificate of Origin & GSP

Exporting from Nepal is a licensed commercial activity, so the first step is to have a legally registered business. A sole proprietorship or partnership firm registers with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (or the relevant local office / Department of Cottage and Small Industries), while a private or public limited company registers with the Office of the Company Registrar. Every exporter must then obtain a Permanent Account Number (PAN) from the Inland Revenue Department, and register for Value Added Tax (VAT) if turnover crosses the threshold or the goods are VAT-attracting.

The single most important licence for a trader is the EXIM code (Exporter-Importer code), a unique identification number issued by the Department of Customs. Without an EXIM code your export declaration cannot be lodged in the customs system. Applications are made through the Department of Customs EXIM / Nepal National Single Window (NNSW) portal, supported by your firm/company registration certificate, PAN/VAT certificate, the latest tax clearance, a bank account confirmation and, in most cases, membership of a recognised trade body such as the FNCCI, the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) or the FNCSI.

The EXIM code is generally issued within about seven days once documents are verified, and it must be renewed annually. Treat the EXIM code, PAN/VAT and firm registration as your permanent export identity: they are quoted on the export declaration, on the Certificate of Origin, and on the paperwork used to claim any export incentive. Fees for registration and renewal are modest and are paid online through the customs portal; exact amounts change periodically, so confirm the current schedule with the Department of Customs.

Once your export identity is in place, each shipment is built around a standard set of documents. The commercial invoice states the buyer, goods, quantity, unit price and FOB/CIF value; the packing list breaks down the cartons, weights and marks; and the customs export declaration — the pragyapan patra, technically a Single Administration Document (SAD) — is the legal declaration lodged with Customs. Depending on the destination and the product, you will also attach a Certificate of Origin and, for tariff preferences, a specific form such as the GSP Form A or a SAFTA/SAPTA certificate.

Product-specific documents are common and should be arranged early. Agricultural and food exports typically need a phytosanitary certificate (from the plant quarantine office) or a food/quality certificate; some goods need a quality certificate from the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology. A few sensitive items — for example certain forest products, wildlife-derived goods, arms, antiques or minerals — require an export permit or recommendation from the concerned ministry or department, and a handful of items are prohibited from export altogether.

Finally, you need proof of the payment arrangement. This is usually a Letter of Credit (L/C) opened by the foreign buyer's bank, or a certificate of advance payment, or a documentary collection through your bank. This banking channel is not just paperwork: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) rules require export proceeds to be repatriated and realised through the banking system, and the bank documents are later used to prove the export actually earned foreign currency.

A Certificate of Origin (CoO) is a document certifying that the goods were produced or substantially processed in Nepal. Importing countries use it to apply the correct tariff and to confirm the goods are genuinely Nepali. Nepal issues both non-preferential Certificates of Origin (a plain statement of origin) and preferential certificates that unlock reduced or zero duty under a specific trade scheme.

Non-preferential Certificates of Origin are issued by several bodies: the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC, a government agency under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies), the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). Chambers typically sell the printed CoO set for a nominal amount and then levy a value-based certification charge of about 12 paisa per Rs 100 (roughly 0.12%) of the FOB invoice value when they stamp and sign the certificate; TEPC and CNI issue on a similar basis. Confirm the current fee and any online-issuance option with the issuing body, as chambers have been moving CoO issuance onto digital platforms.

Preferential certificates depend on the destination and scheme. For exports to other South Asian countries you use the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) or SAPTA certificate, which the FNCCI, NCC and CNI are authorised to issue. For duty preferences under the Generalized System of Preferences of the European Union, United Kingdom and other developed markets, the relevant form is the GSP Form A, described below. Always match the certificate to the buyer's country and the duty concession being claimed — using the wrong form can mean the shipment is charged full duty on arrival.

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) lets developed economies grant reduced or zero import duty to goods from developing and least-developed countries. Because Nepal has been a least-developed country (LDC), many of its products have entered markets such as the European Union duty-free under the EU's 'Everything But Arms' (EBA) arrangement, and under GSP schemes of other partners. To claim this concession, the shipment must be accompanied by the correct origin document — historically the GSP Form A.

In Nepal, the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) issues the GSP Form A. An exporter applies with a covering letter and copies of the enterprise (firm/company) registration and income-tax (PAN) registration. The exporter fills in the standard Form A, and the form is then stamped and certified — the original GSP Form A is validated by Nepalese Customs at the time of export. Because scheme rules and documentation are periodically modernised (some markets now accept a registered-exporter self-declaration instead of a stamped Form A), check the current requirement for your destination before shipping.

This preferential access is time-limited. Nepal is scheduled to graduate from the LDC category on 24 November 2026, after which its automatic LDC duty-free entitlements begin to phase out. The EU has indicated a transition period (commonly cited as running to around 2029) before EBA access ends, after which Nepal would need to qualify for the more demanding GSP+ scheme by ratifying and enforcing a set of international conventions. Exporters relying on GSP duty savings should plan for this change and diversify markets accordingly.

The legal act of exporting happens at Customs. The exporter or a licensed customs agent (bhansar agent) lodges the export declaration — the pragyapan patra / Single Administration Document (SAD) — at the customs office or export point, electronically through the customs ASYCUDA World / NNSW system. The declaration classifies the goods under the Harmonized System (HS) code, states quantity and value, and is submitted with the commercial invoice, packing list, Certificate of Origin, EXIM code and the banking/payment document.

Customs verifies the declaration, may physically examine the consignment, and confirms that no export prohibition or special permit applies. Most standard exports do not attract export duty, but some specified goods do, and a customs service charge applies; any GSP Form A is stamped and certified at this stage. Once cleared, the goods are released for loading and export, and the exporter receives the certified copy of the export declaration.

For goods moving to third countries by sea, Nepal being landlocked means the cargo transits India under the Nepal-India transit treaty, usually through Kolkata/Haldia or Visakhapatnam ports, so a customs transit declaration and the associated transit documents are also prepared. Keep the certified export declaration safe: it is the primary evidence that the export took place and is required for both bank realisation and any incentive claim.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, regulates how export earnings must be received. Exports to third countries must generally be invoiced and realised in convertible foreign currency through a licensed commercial bank, using a Letter of Credit, documentary collection or advance payment. The bank matches the export declaration and shipping documents against the incoming payment and issues a realisation certificate confirming the foreign currency has been received — a step often called EXIM or proceeds realisation.

Trade with India works differently because of the two countries' close monetary links. Exports to India are commonly settled in Indian rupees or convertible currency through the banking channel, subject to the prevailing NRB and Reserve Bank of India arrangements, and the Nepali rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee. In all cases the exporter should route payment through a bank rather than informal channels, both to comply with foreign-exchange rules and to build the documentary trail.

This realisation paperwork matters beyond compliance. The bank realisation certificate, together with the certified export declaration and invoice, is the proof that the export genuinely earned foreign exchange for Nepal. Those same documents are what any export-incentive scheme requires before releasing a cash subsidy, so exporters should file them carefully for every shipment.

To encourage value-added exports, the Government of Nepal has for several years run a cash export-incentive scheme under an 'Export Subsidy / Cash Incentive Procedure' administered through the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the Department of Industry and Nepal Rastra Bank. Under successive versions of the procedure, eligible exporters could claim a cash rebate calculated as a percentage of the export value, provided the product met a minimum domestic value-addition test and the goods were exported to third countries (not simply re-exported inputs).

The rates and product lists were revised over time. Earlier the scheme offered roughly 3% to 5%; a later revision (from around fiscal year 2079/80, 2022/23) restructured it to a higher band — commonly cited as up to 8% for large-volume exporters — with a base rate tied to value addition (for example around 4% at 30% value addition and higher for greater value addition), plus small bonuses for stronger value addition, collective trademarks or year-on-year export growth. Covered products spanned processed tea and coffee, handicrafts, herbs and essential oils, ready-made garments, carpets and pashmina, jute goods, leather and selected industrial goods.

Crucially, the status of this scheme has changed. In September 2025 the government stopped accepting new applications for the export cash subsidy, citing the country's coming graduation from LDC status and World Trade Organization concerns about export subsidies, and made no fresh budget allocation for it. Substantial dues to earlier claimants remained outstanding. Because the scheme is in flux, treat any specific rate as historical and confirm the current position with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies or NRB before relying on it. To claim under any scheme that is active, exporters typically need the EXIM code, PAN/VAT, the commercial invoice and customs export declaration, the bank realisation/advance-payment proof and a tax-clearance certificate, submitted within the deadline set in the procedure.