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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Nepal\u2019s Balendra Shah-led new govt\u2019s stricter enforcement of customs duty of up to 80% on goods worth over Nepali Rs 100 (Rs 63) bought from Indian markets has cut Nepali footfall in border bazaars from Dharchula to Darjeeling, squeezed Indian traders and made routine purchases costlier for families across Nepal\u2019s border districts. It has also now triggered protests along the 1,750km open border.While some opposition parties have called the decision an \u201cunofficial blockade\u201d of Indian goods, a member of Shah\u2019s Rastriya Swatantra Party has also said the move is \u201cimpractical\u201d.For decades, Nepali families crossed into India for groceries, medicines, clothes, utensils, mobile accessories and wedding goods, while Indian shopkeepers, porters, rickshaw-pullers, transporters and small vendors built their earnings around that flow. The border is still open, but every shopping bag now comes with a calculation: whether it has crossed the Rs 100 mark.The move has sharpened anger because Nepal\u2019s land-border rule leaves little room for ordinary shoppers, unlike broader personal-use allowances in air travel regimes.The rule itself is not new. What changed, traders and border residents said, was its strict enforcement around Nepali New Year last week, when Nepal-side checkpoints began insisting on customs duty on even small consignments. Depending on the item, the levy ranges from 5% to 80%. At several border points, Nepal\u2019s security personnel have been making loudspeaker announcements: \u201cNo exemption will be given to civilians, govt employees or NGO workers. Customs duty must be paid on Indian goods worth more than Rs 100.\u201dKathmandu has framed the checks as an attempt to curb revenue leakage and illegal imports after complaints that purchases from Indian markets had slowed local business and hurt revenue. Punya Bikram Khadka, information officer at Nepal department of customs, had earlier said duty would be charged on goods above Rs 100 brought from Indian border markets, including for personal use. \u201cWe will be strict from now onwards,\u201d he said.Nepali Congress has demanded immediate withdrawal of the move, calling it \u201canti-people and insensitive\u201d amid inflation. The party said the decision would hit low-income households in border districts that rely on cheaper Indian goods. Rajiv Jha, of Rastriya Swatantra Party and chairman of Open Border Dialogue Group, said India and Nepal shared social, cultural, religious and familial ties. \u201cSetting a limit of 100 rupees in today\u2019s era of inflation is extremely low and impractical. The govt must review this immediately,\u201d Jha said. \u201cThere should be a clear distinction between simple gifts brought by a daughter visiting from her maternal home and goods for commercial purposes. Food items should be exempt from customs.\u201dBinay Yadav, chairman of Rastriya Ekta Dal, called the move an \u201cundeclared blockade\u201d. \u201cThis step is against provisions of the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty. The government should immediately remove the customs limit for household items and instruct security personnel to behave in a citizen-friendly manner,\u201d he said, warning of a larger protest across the Indo-Nepal border region if the directive was not rolled back.In Banbasa, Uttarakhand, Bharat Singh Bhandari, chairman of Banbasa traders\u2019 union, said the change was visible within days. \u201cBusiness has been affected. Nepali customers are buying fewer goods and in smaller quantities. More than 50 Nepali citizens earlier carried goods worth around Rs 60 lakh into Nepal by cycle every day, but that movement has fallen after checks tightened.\u201dThe strain is visible in Uttarakhand\u2019s Dharchula and Tanakpur, too, where traders said customers who once bought monthly ration baskets now split purchases, buy only urgent items or return without shopping after being warned of duty across the border. In UP, the impact extends through Sonauli-Belahiya, Rupaidiha-Nepalgunj and Barhni-Krishnanagar, among the busiest corridors between the two countries. Traders in Sonauli said buyers from Bhairahawa, Butwal and nearby settlements earlier came several times a week, but many now restrict visits or purchases.In Bihar, Jogbani, Raxaul and smaller haats have also slowed. Traders said the timing was poor because the wedding season usually brings buyers from Nepal. Nearly 50 rural markets along the border have felt the impact as customers avoid queues, inspections and additional charges. Ramesh Poddar, a shopkeeper in Jogbani, said the Rs 100 ceiling was unrealistic for normal household shopping. \u201cEven buying a kilo of good tea or a few packets of biscuits crosses the limit. After that, people are forced to stand in long queues for hours to pay duty,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n