KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order stopping local governments from illegally collecting taxes from vehicles operating on national highways.
A joint bench of Justice Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal ruled that local governments cannot impose any form of illegal tax or charge on vehicles running on national, feeder and postal highways.
The petition was filed by Rajendra Bikram Bania, president of the Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs Federation.
He claimed that several local governments were illegally collecting taxes from vehicles without legal authority.
The writ was registered on September 7.
The court said that, for the sake of balance of convenience, no illegal tax collection should take place by placing barriers, desks or through any other means on these highways.
The order also mentions major routes including the Tribhuvan Rajpath, the Hulaki Highway, and the Mahendra Highway.
Local governments have been barred from setting up desks or tables to collect any form of illegal tax on these road sections.
The interim order offers immediate relief to transport operators and aims to ensure uniform regulation on national highway corridors.
