Nepal keeps several parallel registers for enterprises. Choosing the wrong one costs time, and in some sectors it means operating without the licence the activity actually requires.
What this area covers
- Gharelu tatha Sana Udhyog registration for cottage and small scale industries
- Industry registration and licensing at the Department of Industry
- Classification advice: which register an enterprise actually belongs on
- Environmental and sector approvals required before operation
- Capacity increase, product line expansion and change of location filings
- Annual and periodic returns for registered industries
- Applications for the incentives and facilities available to registered industries
- Transfer, restructuring and closure of a registered industry
Questions we are asked in this area
They are not alternatives so much as different layers. Many businesses hold both: a company registration at the Office of the Company Registrar for the legal entity, and an industry registration at the Department of Cottage and Small Industries or the Department of Industry for the manufacturing or service activity. Which industry register applies depends on the fixed capital and the nature of the activity. We assess this before anything is filed, because correcting a misclassification later is slower than getting it right first.
Registration is a precondition for a number of things a growing business will eventually want: sector specific incentives, certain bank facilities, participation in some tenders, and in several activities it is simply mandatory to operate lawfully.
Registered industries have periodic reporting obligations, and several sector licences carry renewal cycles of their own. We map these to a calendar at the point of registration so the client is not relying on memory.
Yes, subject to the foreign investment approval process and to the sectors open to foreign investment. The industry registration and the investment approval are separate steps that need to be sequenced correctly.