Taking a Nepali vehicle across the border into India, or an Indian vehicle into Nepal, still involves a fair amount of hassle for vehicle owners.

Nepali vehicles entering India for up to three months currently have to pay between Nepali Rs3,100 and Rs8,720, depending on the type of vehicle and duration of stay.

They also need a valid vehicle permit and must complete other formalities, including payment of fees and submission of a bank guarantee through the Embassy of India in Kathmandu or the Consulate General of India in Birgunj. Short-term or border-area visits may be covered by local one-day pass provisions at major checkpoints.

Indian-registered vehicles, meanwhile, can stay in Nepal for a maximum of 30 days in a calendar year. Owners must register their vehicles at Nepali border check posts and obtain a day pass, or ‘Challan’.

Indian vehicles travelling beyond the nearest Nepali town or staying overnight must register their entry for the specific number of days and pay charges ranging from Rs100 to Rs500 per day, depending on the type of vehicle.

Now, the two neighbours are seeking to ease the cumbersome system by digitising permits and revising existing transport protocols.

In August, Nepal and India agreed to digitalise cross-border transport facilitation to improve transparency and efficiency in the movement of personal and non-regular passenger vehicles.

The agreement was reached during the fourth meeting of the Nepal-India Cross Border Transport Facilitation Joint Working Group under the Nepal-India Motor Vehicle Agreement for Regulation of Vehicular Traffic, held in Kathmandu on August 20-21.

“We have agreed to form a joint task force to resolve the lapses for a smooth cross-border transport facility,” said Sushil Babu Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, who led the bilateral meeting. “We have already directed the Department of Transport Management and other stakeholders to prepare focal points and work out a mechanism.”

He said a key objective of the task force would be to ease the permit process for private vehicles travelling from Nepal to India.

The minutes of the meeting, obtained by the Post, show that India informed Nepal that it is developing a Cross Border Vehicle Permit System to digitise permit issuance. Nepal has already started work to implement the system, while the Indian side commended Nepal’s plan to introduce a digital portal.

The meeting reviewed progress on earlier decisions and discussed permits, passenger bus routes, digitalisation, border infrastructure, fees, FASTag—India’s electronic toll collection system—road safety, and coordination.

Nepal raised concerns over delays in India’s countersignature of route permits beyond the one-month period stipulated under the 2014 Motor Vehicle Agreement. Both sides agreed to an interim 45-day processing timeline under the existing manual system.

Operators should apply for renewal at least two months before expiry.

A possible one-month fee-free buffer period may also be considered, although this would require an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Agreement, according to the meeting minutes.

Nepal’s proposal to extend permit validity from one year to two years was not accepted, and this means the existing one-year validity will continue.

Nepal argued that requiring a Joint Operating Agreement between authorised operators has been causing delays in countersignatures and is not explicitly required by the Motor Vehicle Agreement. India agreed to look into the issue and respond through diplomatic channels.

Both countries also agreed to establish a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) to prioritise digitisation of the permit system, draft additional transport protocols, amend the Motor Vehicle Agreement and existing protocols, and explore adoption of FASTag.

The committee will include officials from transport, foreign affairs, home affairs, customs, law, and other relevant agencies of both countries.

Nepal also proposed automatic renewal of the Motor Vehicle Agreement and its protocols. According to the minutes, India will consult its legal authorities and respond through diplomatic channels.

Both sides agreed to move provisions on private vehicles and non-regular passenger vehicles from the existing passenger-transport protocol into separate protocols.

Existing permit and countersignature fees will remain unchanged.

The two countries will exchange data on authorised operators and buses running on approved routes up to July 31, 2026. The date is to be exchanged by the end of September 2026, and the list of approved passenger routes will be updated annually.

Nepal’s proposal to expand cross-border bus services to additional Indian states remains under consideration.

Nepal requested seven additional cross-border passenger bus routes: Kathmandu-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur; Pokhara-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur; Butwal-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur; Nepalgunj-Ayodhya-Banaras; Nepalgunj-Chandigarh-Himachal-Manali; Butwal-Lumbini-Sunauli-Delhi; and Butwal-Sunauli-Chandigarh.

The most concrete outcome was an agreement to operationalise the Kathmandu-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur and Pokhara-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur routes.

The proposed Butwal-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Jaipur route will require further consultations with Indian state governments, according to the minutes. India also asked Nepal to reassess demand for several other proposed routes. The existing Mahendranagar-Dehradun connection is already in operation.

Nepal also asked India to provide secure parking facilities and ticket counters for cross-border buses on a reciprocal basis. India acknowledged the request but pointed to space constraints, particularly in New Delhi, and agreed to discuss possible locations with state authorities based on operational data.

India, meanwhile, complained that its private vehicles entering Nepal face multiple charges, including customs and Road Development Tax, whereas Nepali vehicles entering India pay a single consolidated fee.

India proposed a single-window, single-charge system. Nepal said it would consult the relevant authorities and respond.

The two sides agreed to begin drafting separate protocols for personal passenger vehicles and non-regular passenger transport. India will share draft protocols within two months, and Nepal will submit its comments within two months of receiving them. The JTC will help finalise the drafts.

Once the permit system is fully digitised, applications submitted through the portal are expected to be processed within a month or less, with greater transparency in the process.

Nepal also requested reduced queuing time at Integrated Check Posts, priority passage for cross-border passenger buses, and dedicated lanes for buses.

Both sides agreed that immigration and passenger facilities at the border need better coordination and said they would convey the concerns to the relevant authorities.

India presented its FASTag electronic toll-collection system, operated by the National Payments Corporation of India, and said Nepali banks could partner with Indian issuing banks to provide FASTag to Nepali vehicles.

India said FASTag would make toll payments easier and warned that Nepali vehicles without FASTag could end up paying double the toll in cash.

Nepal will consider the proposal with relevant stakeholders. It also proposed examining interoperability between India’s FASTag and Nepal’s NTag system. This will be discussed through the JTC.

Both sides expressed concern over the rising number of accidents and deaths involving cross-border vehicles.

India proposed cooperation in three areas: driver training, including differences between driving on plain and mountainous terrain; technical vehicle safety standards; and post-crash emergency response.

For day-to-day coordination, each side will appoint nodal officers from relevant stakeholder agencies within a month. These officers will act as focal points for resolving operational problems between the two countries.

Nepal and India signed the Motor Vehicle Agreement in November 2014 to boost tourism and facilitate movement between the two countries.

As the agreement has not been fully implemented, the joint committee will work on various aspects to ensure its implementation, said Maniram Bhusal, director of the Department of Transport Management.

“A meeting will be held once a year. A nodal officer will be appointed who will look into the matter,” Bhusal said.

“Till now, most of the things were on an ad-hoc basis. The new procedure will include a process to permit reciprocity for both countries, which will ease Nepali vehicles too on all types of vehicles.”

It will take around seven months to prepare the new procedure, Bhusal said.

“We are preparing to make an online system where one can complete the process digitally, including the payment, and get the pass online.”

The bilateral meeting was held after an eight-year gap.