Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the Finance Minister not to implement a decision that bars a Nepali citizen from bringing more than one mobile set from abroad after the move drew flak on social media.

The Finance Ministry had decided to levy an 18 percent customs duty if a returnee is found to have brought more than one handheld device from abroad.

Prime Minister Dahal on Friday directed Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel not to implement the decision immediately, Surya Kiran Sharma, media coordinator to the prime minister told the Post. The decision was to be implemented today.

Following the decision, Nepali migrant workers abroad launched a ‘no remittance’ campaign on social media, stating they will stop sending remittances to Nepal.

Remittances are, in many ways, the backbone of Nepal’s economy. Since 2005, Nepal has earned significantly more foreign exchange from international migration than from goods and services exports, including tourism, and foreign direct investment combined, according to the World Bank’s report.

The decision by the Finance Ministry comes on the heels of the announcement by the nation’s telecommunications regulator—Nepal Telecommunications Authority on the implementation of the mobile device management system in a full-fledged manner today.

Issuing a notice on Saturday, the regulator requested that mobile phone users who brought their handheld devices from abroad for personal use before mid-August this year should now update their operating system by taking an invoice from the customs office.