It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Nepal to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

Nepal has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

It is reported that protection of intellectual property rights remains a serious challenge in Nepal. The existing laws and regulations related to intellectual property rights in the country are reported to be outdated and not very effective, and their enforcement is inconsistent. In addition, Nepal encounters considerable difficulties in thwarting the trade of counterfeit goods due to a deficiency in awareness about intellectual property and the absence of up-to-date intellectual property legislation. The enforcement of violations in intellectual property rights is, at most, irregular. Those responsible for enforcing the law often lack sufficient training in intellectual property matters, and wrongdoers can frequently make small payments to evade legal action.

Nepal has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

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

Nepal has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use, which enable the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Arts. 17-23 of the Copyright Act list the exceptions, which include 'fair use' of portions of published work by making citations to the source and author's name, reproduction for personal use; reproduction for teaching and learning; reproduction by library and archives; reproduction, broadcast and communication for providing information to the general public; among others.

It is reported that IPR protection in Nepal is reported to be weak and enforcement is poor. Nepal still does not have sufficient resources to maintain qualified patent examiners in all fields.

According to Sec. 22 of the Labor Act, 2017, no employer shall employ any foreign national as labor without obtaining work permit from the Department. However, if the required skilled labor cannot be supplied by Nepali nationals, it is permitted to employ a subject foreign worker . This restriction has been in force since the amendment of the Labor Act of 1992, introduced by Section 4(A) of 1998. In addition, the Labor Rules, which came into force in 2018, pursuant to Section 3.1, slightly relaxed this provision by allowing a foreign-invested enterprise to have up to three foreign workers without conducting the labor market test. The labor market test, pursuant to Sec. 22.3 of the 2017 Labor Law, involves the publication of the job offer in a daily newspaper. A foreign worker can only be hired if it is proved that no Nepali with the required qualification can be found who can perform the job advertised in the job offer.

Foreign investment in all the sector is subject to approval. According to Section 15 of the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 foreign investors wishing to make investment are required to file an application to the foreign investment approving body. The application requires setting out the details of the investment, accompanied by a time schedule for bringing the investment into Nepal and action plan of the investment. In addition, it is reported that other procedures such as registration at different government agencies can be carried out only after the foreign investment approval body provides the approval. The screening requirement is enacted since the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 1992 (Section 3).

According to Art. 185 of the Companies Act, it is mandatory for companies with paid-up capital 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, keeping records of these meetings' decisions, receiving shareholder grievances, among other things.

According to Art. 2 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 industry 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.

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

According to Art. 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 Section 70 (2a) of the Public Procurement Regulation, procurement of consultancy services whose cost estimate is below NPR 100 million (800,000 USD) generally excludes foreign suppliers. However, exceptions can be made foreign entities that form a joint venture with a domestic consultant person, firm, or company.
The threshold exceeds the average threshold in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, which is 130,000 Special Drawing Rights (roughly equal to NPR 20 million or 160,000 USD).

According to Section 31.F (introduced through an amendment in 2019) of the Public Procurement Regulation, domestic bidders are given preference even when public procurement is done through international bidding. Domestic firms, organizations, or companies that participate solely or in joint venture with domestic firms, organization, or companies are preferred in international bidding. Domestic firm, organization, or company (participating singly or through joint venture) may be accepted even if its price exceeds the lowest bid made by a foreign entity by up to 5%.