On September 5, the CIAA confiscated the betel nuts loaded on 25 trucks charging that the accompanying certificate of origin was fake. It then sent samples of the products to a lab to determine if they had been produced domestically. However, after holding the betel nuts for three months, the CIAA abruptly dropped the case without providing an explanation for its actions.

A few days earlier, the CIAA had passed the buck to the Rani Customs Office, Revenue Investigation Office, Itahari and the district and local chambers of commerce  which issues the certificate of origin to decide the matter.

CIAA spokesperson Sridhar Sapkota said that they had abandoned the investigation to allow the local administration and local chambers to decide the next course of action. “We have written to them to take the necessary legal measures by finding out whether the betel nuts had been produced within the country or brought from outside,” he added.

A government official said that it was not right for the CIAA to confiscate the betel nuts and then tell other agencies to take the necessary decision. “The CIAA should have penalised them if they were guilty. However, it stepped back from the case without concluding its investigation,” he added.

The CIAA had seized the betel nuts from Anupa Traders and Parbati Traders, the licensed exporters of the product for this year.

Meanwhile, Tars Nepal, which provided the warehouse to hold the confiscated betel nuts, has demanded Rs 2.5 million as rental. The exporters have refused to pay it saying that they were not responsible for the betel nuts being stored in the warehouse of Tars Nepal.

This year, Jhapa district has been licensed to export 9,028 tonnes of betel nuts. Similarly, Morang district has been provided an export quota of 2,845 tonnes. So far, 4,200 tonnes of the product have been exported.

Since the CIAA seized the 25 truckloads of betel nuts, another 425 truckloads of a similar type of betel nuts have been exported.

Meanwhile, betel nut exports are reported to have been affected also due to India’s actions. The Indian authorities have started testing the products at laboratories in India following repeated disagreements over whether they were produced in Nepal or not.

Eastern Nepal produces an estimated 15,000 tonnes of betel nuts annually. Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari and Ilam districts are the main producers. Betel nuts imported from third countries have sidelined local products even though the country’s output is adequate for domestic use. Of the total betel nut imports, barely one-fourth is consumed inside the country, said analysts.