Section 70.2(A) of the Public Procurement Regulations stipulates that foreign participation in the procurement of consultancy services estimated to cost less than NPR 100 million (approx. USD 800,000) is not permitted. However, exceptions may apply if a foreign entity forms a joint venture with a domestic individual, firm, or consulting company.

Nepal is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.

According to Section 5.6.2 of the Telecommunication Policy Act, foreign ownership in the telecommunications sector is subject to a maximum equity limit of 80%.

According to Art. 3 of the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, no industry operated with foreign investment may make foreign investment of profits earned or in any other manner in any sector referred to in the Schedule of the Act. Pursuant to the Schedule Relating to Sub-section (2) of Section 3, foreign investment in consultancy services is subject to a maximum foreign equity limit of 51%. In addition, according to the Schedule, foreign investment in both computer training services and accounting, engineering, and legal consultancy is prohibited.

According to Art. 185 of the Companies Act, it is mandatory for companies with paid-up capital of more than 10 million rupees (approx. 75,200 USD) to employ a company secretary with Nepali nationality. The company secretary is responsible for keeping and updating company records, calling general meetings, maintaining records of these meetings' decisions, and receiving shareholder grievances, among other things.

According to Section 22 of the Labour Act 2017, employers are prohibited from hiring foreign nationals as labourers without obtaining a work permit from the Department. However, if the required skilled labour is unavailable among Nepali nationals, employers are allowed to hire a foreign worker. This restriction has been in place since the amendment of the Labour Act 1992, introduced by Section 4(A) in 1998. Additionally, the Labour Rules, effective since 2018, provide a slight relaxation of this provision under Section 3.1, allowing foreign-invested enterprises to employ up to three foreign workers without undergoing the labour market test. The labour market test, as specified in Section 22.3 of the 2017 Labour Act, requires publishing the job offer in a daily newspaper.

Foreign investment in all sectors is subject to approval. According to Section 15 of the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act of 2019, foreign investors wishing to invest must submit an application to the foreign investment approval body. This application should include details of the investment, a schedule for bringing the investment into Nepal, and an action plan. Additionally, it is reported that other procedures, such as registration with various government agencies, can only be carried out after receiving approval from the foreign investment approval body. The screening requirement has been in place since the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act of 1992 (Section 3).

It is reported that Nepal lacks sufficient resources to maintain qualified patent examiners, and enforcement officials are not adequately trained. In addition, it is reported that insufficient fines do not deter patent infringement.

Nepal is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Nepal has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Art. 17 of the Copyright Act explicitly adopts the fair use model, allowing limited portions of a published work to be cited without authorisation from the author or copyright holder, provided such use does not prejudice their economic rights. In such cases, the source and author’s name (if indicated) must be appropriately credited. Arts. 18–23 of the Copyright Act outline an additional set of exceptions, which include reproduction for personal use, educational purposes, or use by libraries and archives, as well as reproduction, broadcasting, or communication of works for public information purposes, among others.

In Namibia, type approval procedures for telecommunications equipment are regulated by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN). The conformity requirements reportedly align closely with those of the European Union. The homologation process does not mandate local laboratory testing or engagement with local representatives, as Namibia currently lacks ISO 17000-certified laboratories for conducting these tests. Instead, the regulations permit acceptance of test results from accredited laboratories abroad, provided the necessary supporting documentation is submitted to CRAN.
Under Section 8 of the Regulations in respect of Type Approval and Technical Standards for Telecommunications Equipment, CRAN may accept a declaration of conformity from an applicant if it is accompanied by a certified copy of test reports and data issued by an accredited test laboratory, confirming that the telecommunications equipment for which type approval is sought meets the applicable technical standards.

The Electronic Transactions Act, Chapter 5, requires accreditation of security services and products including those which are meant to encrypt or decrypt data. This accreditation may involve the technical analysis of the services. The specific requirements for such technical analysis are not listed.

Namibia does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

Namibia lacks a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions.

Namibia has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.