Nepal Government Postpones Mandatory Use of Licensed Firms for High-Value Property Transactions

Kathmandu. The government has temporarily suspended its recent decision mandating that property transactions exceeding NPR 30 million in Metropolitan Cities and Sub-Metropolitan Cities must be conducted exclusively through licensed companies.

The Department of Land Management and Records issued a new notice on Wednesday (Falgun 19) directing its subordinate Land Revenue Offices to proceed with operations according to the previous (existing) procedures.

The department stated that the primary reason for the postponement of the circular issued on Falgun 8 to implement the new arrangement is the lack of technical preparedness.

According to Rule 23(tha) of the Land Revenue Regulation, 2036, such licensed individuals or entities are legally required to operate a Land Service Center and conduct transactions through the Land Information System. However, the 36 companies licensed by the government have not yet received permission to operate Land Service Centers, and technical work remains incomplete; therefore, this rule is halted until further notice.

With the objective of making property transactions more systematic and transparent, the department had granted transaction licenses to 36 companies under Section 26(A) of the Land Revenue Act, 2034.

Under that provision, the rule was set to be implemented from the upcoming Falgun 25, requiring the purchase and sale of real estate valued over NPR 30 million within Metropolitan Cities such as Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bharatpur, Birgunj, and Biratnagar, as well as all eleven Sub-Metropolitan Cities in the country, to be conducted only through these listed companies.

With this latest move by the department, the public will not immediately have to search for licensed companies for property transactions exceeding NPR 30 million.

Service recipients can proceed with the registration and transfer of their property deeds through the previous regular process. The department has indicated that this new arrangement will only be reinstated after the licensed companies complete their technical preparations and receive authorization to operate Land Service Centers.