Database

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NEPAL

Since September 2018

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Conditional flow regime
Individual Privacy Act, 2075 (वैयक्तिक गोपनीयता सम्बन्धी ऐन, २०७५ )
Section 12.4 of the Privacy Act requires the consent of the data subject for the disclosing, making public, or transferring of the following data: details relating to a medical examination; details relating to property and income; further information relating to employment; details relating to family matters; biometric data and fingerprints; signatures or electronic signatures; further information concerning the political affiliation and voting; and further information pertaining to profession and business. The term 'transfer' may signify the transfer of personal data outside Nepal, thereby requiring specific consent from the individual, although there is no clear evidence about the applicability of this requirement to cross-border data transfers.
Coverage Horizontal

NEPAL

Since July 1992, last amended in March 2019

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Screening of investment and acquisitions
Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 (2075) (विदेशी लगानी तथा प्रविधि हस्तान्तरण ऐन, २०७५)
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).
Coverage Horizontal
"SELECT DISTINCT(post_id) FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'NP')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
[{"post_id":"85666"},{"post_id":"85667"},{"post_id":"85668"}]
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'impact' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'NP')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'NP')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
ITA: [{"meta_value":"1.00"}]

NEPAL

ITA signatory? I II

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Indicator Effective tariff rate on ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
8.28%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
28.48%
Coverage: ICT goods

NEPAL

N/A

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Indicator Participation in the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Lack of participation in Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and in ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
Nepal is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).
Coverage ICT goods

NEPAL

Since January 2007, last amended in March 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Exclusion from public procurement
Public Procurement Act, 2007 (सार्वजनिक खरिद ऐन, २०६३)
According to Art. 15 of the Public Procurement Act, international bidding is used for public procurement only when goods cannot be procured at competitive prices, if no bid has been submitted in the national bid for procurement of goods and services, or if it is certified by a public entity that goods to be procured is of complex and special nature.
Coverage Horizontal

NEPAL

Since August 2007, last amended in December 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Public Procurement Regulation, 2007 (सार्वजनिक खरिद नियमावली, २०६४)
According to Section 17 of the Public Procurement Regulation, a public entity shall, in making procurement by selecting any method set forth in the Regulation, provide a 15% price preference to the Nepali goods.
Coverage Horizontal

NEPAL

Since August 2007, as amended in May 2019, last amended in December 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Public Procurement Regulation, 2007 (सार्वजनिक खरिद नियमावली, २०६४)
According to Section 31(F), introduced in 2019 through an amendment of the Public Procurement Regulation, domestic bidders are given preference even when public procurement is done through international bidding. Domestic firms, organisations, or companies that participate solely or in joint ventures with domestic firms, organisations, or companies are preferred in international bidding with a price preference margin of up to 5%.
Coverage Horizontal

NEPAL

Since August 2007, last amended in December 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Public Procurement Regulation, 2007 (सार्वजनिक खरिद नियमावली, २०६४)
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.
Coverage Consultancy services

NEPAL

N/A

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Signatory of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) with coverage of the most relevant services sectors (CPC 752, 754, 84)
Lack of participation in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Nepal is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.
Coverage Horizontal

NEPAL

Since April 2004

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Maximum foreign equity share
Telecommunication Policy, 2060 (2004) (दूरसञ्चार नीति २०६०)
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%.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

NEPAL

Since July 1992, last amended in March 2019

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Maximum foreign equity share
Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 (2075) (विदेशी लगानी तथा प्रविधि हस्तान्तरण ऐन, २०७५)
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.
Coverage Consultancy services, computer training services, accounting, engineering, and legal consultancy

NEPAL

Since November 2006, last amended in August 2007

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Nationality/residency requirement for directors or managers
Companies Act, 2006 (2063) (कम्पनी ऐन २०६३)
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.
Coverage Companies with paid up capital more than 10 million rupees

NEPAL

Since September 2017
Since July 2018

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Nationality/residency requirement for directors or managers
Labour Act, 2017 (2074) (श्रम ऐन, २०७४)

Labour Rules, 2018 (2075) (श्रम नियमावली , २०७५)
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.
Coverage Horizontal

MYANMAR

Since April 2004, as amended in February 2014, last amended in February 2021

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
Electronic Transactions Law (The State Peace and Development Council Law No. 5/2004) (အီလက်ထရောနစ် ဆက်သွယ်ဆောင်ရွက်ရေးဥပဒေ)

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No.6/2014 – Law Amending the Electronic Transactions Law 2014
The Electronic Transaction Law 2004 (as amended in 2014) provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. This was amended by the Law Amending the Electronic Transactions Law 2014, providing for the amendment of offences and penalties for anyone who commits any offence by using electronic transaction technology (Arts. 33-36).
Coverage Horizontal

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