How Nepal's online vehicle permit works, and what it costs an Indian car

If you are driving your own car or riding your own bike into Nepal, the paperwork you need is a temporary import permit from Nepal's Department of Customs, the one everyone calls bhansar. Since May 2026 you can fill it in and pay for it online before you leave home, and show a QR code at the border instead of queueing for a paper card.

What it costs, and the 30 day ceiling

The Kathmandu Post reported in June 2026 that Indian registered cars pay Rs 600 a day in customs fees and motorcycles pay Rs 200 a day, in Nepali rupees. The same report noted that Jamunaha in Banke charges motorcycles Rs 600 a day, so ask at your own crossing rather than assuming one national rate. Overstay is expensive. The Post put the penalty at Rs 2,500 a day for cars and Rs 1,002 a day for motorcycles.

The harder limit is time. An Indian registered tourist vehicle is allowed a maximum of 30 days in Nepal in a calendar year, and customs officers quoted by Nepali media call that ceiling absolute rather than something you can buy your way past. Vehicles found running in Nepal without duty paid can be seized and auctioned. In April 2026 Madhesh Province ran an enforcement drive on exactly that, with daily customs fees there listed as Rs 600 for four wheelers, Rs 400 for three wheelers and Rs 200 for motorcycles.

How to apply before you leave home

The module is called Temporary Import of Vehicle, or TIV, and it sits on the Department of Customs website under Our Services. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle launched it in Kathmandu on 5 May 2026. You self declare the vehicle details, pay online or at a designated bank counter, and a QR code lands in your email. That code is the permit. You show it at the checkpoint and keep it with you inside Nepal.

Two things make the online route worth the effort. The system lets you extend the permit from wherever you are in Nepal, instead of driving back to a customs office or paying a penalty, which is the single most common mess on a Mustang or Rara trip that runs long. And the system was built into Nepal's national single window platform, which means the border post is checking the same record you created, not retyping your RC.

Carry the originals anyway. Registration certificate, driving licence, PUC and insurance, plus photocopies, because enforcement at the smaller posts is still paper led.

The insurance gap nobody budgets for

An Indian motor policy covers you in India. To take the same cover into Nepal or Bhutan you need the geographical extension endorsement, IMT 1, added to your policy for an additional premium. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance lists the countries it can be extended to as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Call your insurer at least a week before you leave, get the endorsement in writing on the policy copy you carry, and do not rely on a verbal yes from an agent at the border.

Why the queues are what they are

This is not a quiet border. The Kathmandu Post counted more than 2,000 Indian vehicles entering Nepal daily through six crossings in June 2026, with Belahiya near Bhairahawa alone handling about 600 a day and up to 1,200 when Indian schools break. Birgunj was running at a similar level. Doing the permit online the night before is the difference between a 20 minute formality and losing half a riding day at the gate.

Sources

• More than 2,000 Indian vehicles enter Nepal daily through six border points, The Kathmandu Post
• Madhesh crackdown on Indian-registered vehicles rattles political parties, The Kathmandu Post
• Tourist-ferrying vehicles entering Nepal via surface route can register online, Radio Nepal
• Nepal introduces new digital Temporary Import of Vehicle system, Webb Fontaine
• Nepal tightens digital surveillance on Indian vehicles, Nepal News
• Geographical Extension in Motor Insurance: IMT 1 Cover, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance