Kathmandu – Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank, Guru Prasad Paudel, has emphasized the need for remittance companies to take more proactive measures to transition Hundi transactions from informal to formal channels. Speaking at the merger event between IME Remittance and GME Remittance, held in the capital on Wednesday, Executive Director Paudel also highlighted the high fees associated with remittance services.

He noted that the 4.5 percent remittance tax is expensive and pointed out that while the range of remittance services has become more extensive and advanced, there is still a significant amount being lost to taxes. Paudel stated, “Since 2056/57, Nepal has been formally receiving remittances, and today, the amount has reached 1,400 billion rupees. However, an additional 56 billion rupees is being lost to taxes.”

At the same event, Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Bam Bahadur Mishra, echoed the need for remittance companies to strengthen their capacity to curb the billions of rupees flowing through informal channels and to emphasize formalization. He assured that the Central Bank is always prepared to provide the necessary policy support and practical facilitation to achieve this goal.