How to calculate landed cost for goods imported into Nepal
Nepal assesses customs duty of between 0% and 80% on the CIF value of imported goods, then 13% VAT on the CIF value plus the duty. Because freight sits inside CIF, expensive shipping raises your duty bill as well as your transport bill. Landed cost, not ex-factory price, is the number that decides an order.
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The stack, in order
Work through it in this sequence. Each step feeds the next, which is why the order matters more than the arithmetic.
| Step | Base | Typical rate |
|---|---|---|
| Goods value (FOB) | Ex-factory price | — |
| Freight and insurance to the border | Added to goods value | Varies with volume and route |
| CIF value | Goods + freight + insurance | This is the assessable base |
| Customs duty | CIF value | 0–80% depending on tariff line |
| VAT | CIF + duty | 13% |
| Clearing, handling, inland transport | Actual cost | Varies by district |
| Landed cost | Sum of the above | The only number worth comparing |
A worked example
Take 500 branded steel bottles with a goods value of NPR 500,000 and NPR 40,000 of freight and insurance to the border. CIF is NPR 540,000. At an indicative 15% duty band that is NPR 81,000 of duty. VAT at 13% applies to NPR 621,000, giving NPR 80,730. Landed cost before inland delivery is NPR 701,730 — roughly NPR 1,403 per bottle against an ex-factory NPR 1,000.
The lesson in that example is the multiplier. A 40% gap between ex-factory and landed is normal, not a sign that something has gone wrong.
Why the preferential rebate is not an exemption
India-origin goods receive a preferential rebate off Nepal's MFN rate under the Treaty of Trade. Published rebate levels differ between sources, so the honest position is that you confirm the current rate per HS line rather than assuming a percentage. It reduces the duty; it does not remove it.
Where to verify
Duty rates change with each Finance Act. Confirm the current rate for your specific tariff line on the Nepal National Single Window tariff search at nnsw.gov.np, or in the Department of Customs Tariff for the current fiscal year. Treat every figure in any article, including this one, as a starting point to verify rather than a quote.
Nepal Department of Customs Tariff. Nepal National Single Window (nnsw.gov.np). Worked example uses an indicative duty band for illustration only.