India, Nepal to boost customs cooperation to curb smuggling and ease border trade

New Delhi: India and Nepal have agreed to strengthen their customs cooperation to facilitate smoother trade and prevent smuggling across the shared border.

The two countries held director general-level talks on customs cooperation in Kathmandu to discuss measures to improve trade efficiency, upgrade border infrastructure and combat transborder criminal activities.

The Indian delegation was led by Abhai Kumar Srivastav, director general of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, while the Nepali delegation was led by Mahesh Bhattarai, director general, Department of Customs.


India and Nepal agreed to collaborate in areas that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of trade and customs operations across the border, delivering significant economic benefits to both countries, the finance ministry said in a statement.

They also emphasised the importance of implementing new technologies to facilitate trade and prevent smuggling of goods. The talks covered a range of issues, including measures to check smuggling, review progress on the memorandum of understanding on pre-arrival exchange of customs data and finalise a customs mutual assistance agreement.

Both nations acknowledged that smuggling of goods has been a common challenge and agreed to work together on it.

Nepal is a priority partner of India under its 'Neighbourhood First' Policy, and India accounts for two-thirds of Nepal's exports.