Immigration unit opened at Department of Industry to facilitate foreign investors KATHMANDU, Jan 12: A unit of Department of Immigration has been opened on the premises of Department of Industry as part of the government initiative to introduce single-window system for foreign investors. The unit at Tripureshwar-based Foreign Investment Unit of Department of Industry was inaugurated on Sunday. Minister for Industry Mahesh Basnet inaugurated the unit by handing over business visas to over half a dozen foreign investors. The unit, headed by Laxmi Prasad Baskota, section officer of Department of Immigration, has been authorized to issue business visa of up to five years to foreign investors depending on the type of business and investment commitment under the recommendation of the Department of Industry. The government had first floated the idea of putting in place a single-window system for foreign investors back in 1990s when it embraced liberal market policies. Maheshwor Neupane, director general of Department of Industry, said they would now request Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to open its unit on Department of Industry premises at the earliest. The government, however, has yet to bring all services under single-window system. Foreign investors still need to go to Inland Revenue Office to get Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Office of the Company Registrar to register their company. They need to spend up to one and half months to get permission to start industry from the Department of Industry. William Thomas Laseter, an American investor who has recently been permitted to open a language training center in Bhaktapur, expressed happiness at getting business visa from Department of Industry itself. He, however, requested government officials to arrange banking service at the Department of Industry at the earliest. It took me nearly a month to get permission from the Department of Industry. In US, we get such permission within a week, he added. Minister for Industry Mahesh Basnet (left) hands a foreign investor her passport with a Nepali business visa during the inauguration of a Department of Immigration unit at the Foreign Investment Unit of the Department of Industry offices in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, on Sunday.(Dipesh Shrestha/Republica) Industrialists, both domestic and foreigners, say their valuable time is wasted in administrative formalities as they need to visit different government agencies. Draft of the bill to make amendment to Industrial Enterprise Act focuses on easing doing business system in the country and encouraging investments by devising a separate foreign direct investment policy. The bill, however, is yet to be endorsed from the parliament. Statistics shows the country received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs 14.82 billion in 2013/14. However, the real investment figures are not encouraging. World Bank´s Doing Business Report 2015 ranked Nepal in 108th position out of 189 economies. Nepal was in the 109th position in 2014. Source: Republica
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 04:44:24 +0000