On Friday, a sub-committee formed by the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce, Industries and Consumer Welfare Relation advised the government to revise the price of induction cooker gifted by China during the Indian blockade last year.

NTL was the importer of the induction cookers sent by China and failed to sell them due to the high prices set by the government, resulting in a massive financial loss for the company, said the lawmakers in the sub-committee meeting.

The Chinese government had provided over 11,000 sets of induction cookers as relief aid during the blockade.

Despite receiving the grant, NTL was unable to sell the cookers due to the high price set by the government. The government had set a price of Rs11,995 per induction cooker compared to the average market price of Rs3,000-4,000.

The gifted induction cookers are manufactured by Mydia, a Chinese company. The cooker costs on average, Rs6,000 in Nepal.

The Commerce Ministry’s valuation committee formed on January 19 last year, had fixed the price of the induction cookers. According to NTL officials, the state-owned enterprise has only sold one unit till date. The company paid customs duty of Rs25 million.

The sub-committee also asked the Ministry of Supplies to initiate a waiver of demurrage charges incurred by storage of the induction cookers. According to the report submitted to the sub-committee, NTL owed Rs20 million to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Speaking at the meeting, sub-committee co-ordinator Subhas Chandra Thakuri, said the exorbitant price set by the government was the main cause of the problem.

Mukunda Poudel, joint-secretary of Supplies Ministry, said the ministry had asked MoF to waive customs duty. “As of now, the MoF has provided only Rs10 million to settle the liability which is not sufficient,” he said.

NTL still owes Rs10 million incurred by demurrage charges to Nepal Transit Warehousing Company. Over 10,000 induction cookers gifted as aid by the Chinese government are still being stored in the warehouse.