Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal: The Procedure

Foreign direct investment in Nepal runs through the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act and the agencies that administer it. The path is well-defined, but it is a sequence, and arriving at one stage without completing the previous one is where investors lose months.

Approval first

Investment requires approval before the company is funded. Depending on the size of the investment, this comes from the Department of Industry or the Investment Board. The approval fixes the sector, the amount, and the structure, and some sectors are restricted or closed to foreign investment entirely, so this is the stage to confirm feasibility.

Company and registrations

With approval in hand, the investor incorporates the company at the Company Registrar, registers for tax, and obtains industry registration where required. The approved foreign investment is then brought in through the banking channel and recorded with the central bank, which is essential for repatriating profits later.

Repatriation and the long view

The right to take dividends and proceeds out of Nepal depends on having brought the capital in correctly and kept the records clean. Investors who treat the inbound paperwork carefully find the outbound far smoother; those who do not discover the problem only when they try to repatriate.