Nepal moratorium on Gutka factories

The Industrial Promotion Board (IPB) in Nepal announced an indefinite moratorium on the registration of new gutka manufacturing units after figures from the Inland Revenue Department showed only 150 of 455 registered gutka factories pay taxes, reports Kantipur Online.

Following India’s April 2011 directive banning the sale of gutka in plastic pouches, Indian gutka producers have shifted their operations to border towns in Nepal’s Terai region.

An IPB task force will investigate the gutka industry and submit recommendations within two months.

According to the customs’ department, local manufacturers exported 361,000 tons of gutka in the first five months of fiscal year 2013, more than three times the amount exported in fiscal year 2012.