KATHMANDU, Oct 11: Bagmati Province has suspended the service of renewing vehicle blue book (bill book) and paying vehicle tax online. After the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Transport of Bagmati stopped the service without providing alternative arrangements, many service seekers are in distress.
Citizens have been complaining to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on a daily basis after the discontinuation of the vehicle registration book (blue book) services including tax payment online.
The service was stopped after Bagmati Province did not update the old technology to use the system made by the federal government. The provincial ministry started providing online services by establishing a transport management information system from 2021. There was also a system for paying taxes online using e-wallets.
Although there was a problem in the service since last March, the service was not completely stopped. However, after the start of the new fiscal year, the office stopped the service.
Online renewal service launched for vehicles registered in Bagm...
An electronic system was put in place that transformed the previous transport service and management system into an electronic service and information system. One could get the service by logging into the system and entering his/her details.
There was also a system where details could be filled and viewed through the Nagarik app developed by the Government of Nepal. In the system, it was possible to enter and view the details of vehicles and vehicle owners, to integrate revenue including taxes and duties, to make online payments, and to receive other prescribed services.
However, following the suspension of the services, numerous customers have had to visit transport offices to pay taxes. This situation has resulted in long queues at various Transport Management Service Offices, including those at Ekantakuna, Lalitpur, Gurjudhara Kathmandu, Sano Bharayng, Kathmandu, Sallaghari, Bhaktapur, Hetaunda, Makwanpur, and Bharatpur, Chitwan.
The secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Transport of Bagmati Province, Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, says that there are problems in the current system and preparations are being made to provide this service by joining the integrated system created by the federal government. "We will soon implement a new system to pay all vehicle-related taxes online," he said.
Khagendra Poudel, information officer of the ministry, says that the decision to use the Electronic Vehicle Registration System (EVRS) made by the federal government has led to the closure of the service because the old system was not updated. "We have halted the service since we are transitioning to an integrated system and want to avoid additional expenses on a system that will be discontinued," he said.
On July 5, the federal government launched online driver's license payments in Gandaki Province through the EVRS. The plan was to extend the service to all provinces within a month, but this target has not yet been met. The government is planning to streamline the entire payment process through an online system operated by the transport management offices in the future.
The federal government and provincial governments have failed to operate the online system in an efficient manner, which is considered to be effective to reduce middlemen and queues.
