To register an e-commerce business in Nepal, first register the business itself, obtain its PAN, assess whether VAT registration applies, establish the electronic platform and apply for its listing with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSCP). Registration alone is not enough: an online retailer must also display required business and product information, manage orders, invoices, returns, complaints and customer data under the Electronic Commerce Act, 2081.
Key highlights
- A personal PAN is not a substitute for a registered firm, company or institution trading online.
- A new online retailer should complete the DoCSCP platform-listing step before taking orders; DoCSCP issues a Platform Listing Number within seven days of receiving the application.
- VAT registration is conditional, not automatic for every seller; check the current IRD rules for your activity and turnover.
- Your platform must make business details, customer-service and grievance contacts, PAN or VAT number and Platform Listing Number easy to find.
- Product pages must state the full price, delivery charges and timing, payment methods, returns, cancellation, warranty and other mandated details.
Does this route apply to your online shop?
This guide is for a wholly Nepali-owned online retailer selling goods to customers in Nepal through a website, app, marketplace or social-media storefront. It follows a private limited company as the usual detailed route, although a registered firm can also be the underlying business.
The Electronic Commerce Act allows electronic commerce only by a firm, company or institution duly registered and authorised to trade in goods or services (section 3). It does not replace company, tax, product or import rules.
The route needs additional analysis if you operate a payment-service or fintech platform, have foreign investment, sell regulated products, bring goods in from abroad, run a multi-seller marketplace or sell cross-border. Food, medicines, alcohol and similar regulated goods need their own approvals before they can be sold online (sections 3 and 13).
The registration sequence for a domestic online retailer
- Register the business entity. A private limited company is a separate legal entity and can be formed by one shareholder under the Companies Act, 2063. Reserve a name, file the memorandum and articles, and obtain the registration certificate from the Office of the Company Registrar. See private limited company registration for the incorporation route.
- Obtain a business PAN. The registered business needs a PAN from the Inland Revenue Department before it can issue proper invoices or open a business bank account. See business PAN registration.
- Assess VAT registration. VAT is not automatic. It depends on your turnover and, in some categories, the nature of the activity. If VAT applies, use VAT registration in Nepal to understand the registration process.
- Establish the electronic platform. The platform can be a website, app or similar system. Micro entrepreneurs and equivalent small-scale entrepreneurs may trade through another electronic platform instead of building their own (section 4).
- Apply for DoCSCP platform listing. Submit the business name, registration details, owner or partner information, business description, PAN or VAT number and contact details electronically. DoCSCP must issue the Platform Listing Number electronically within seven days of receiving the application (section 5).
- Publish the required disclosures and operating terms. Put required business and product information, complaint handling, payment, delivery and return arrangements in place before customers can order.
- Launch only after checking product-specific rules. A seller of regulated or imported goods can have separate permissions even when the entity, PAN and platform listing are complete.
The e-commerce Act came into force in mid-April 2025 and applies throughout Nepal. Existing platforms had a three-month transition period to apply for listing; that transition date does not remove the ongoing listing obligation for a current business (section 1 and section 5).
Entity, PAN and VAT: keep these decisions separate
Your company or firm is the legal seller. A personal PAN does not make an unregistered individual eligible to operate an e-commerce business because section 3 requires the trading entity itself to be registered.
VAT is a separate tax decision. The current framework generally makes registration mandatory when annual turnover crosses about NPR 50 lakh for a goods business or about NPR 30 lakh for a services or mixed business, and some activities designated by IRD may require registration regardless of turnover. These figures can change through the Finance Act, so confirm the currently applicable threshold and category position with the Inland Revenue Department before relying on them.
Once you have a PAN or VAT number, it must be disclosed on the platform (section 4).
What the website, app or marketplace page must display
The Act requires information to be clear, easily accessible and updated within 48 hours of a change. Use the following as a pre-launch content checklist.
| Display area | Required information |
|---|---|
| Business profile | Platform and business name; address; registering authority and registration-certificate number; office, branch or outlet details; applicable specific licence; whether you are an intermediary marketplace or direct list-based seller; PAN or VAT number |
| Customer support | Email, telephone and social-media details, including a customer-service contact and the person or unit handling grievances |
| Compliance identity | DoCSCP Platform Listing Number |
| Each product or service | Name, nature, design or identifying details; total price including tax; delivery charge; precautions; delivery date and time; payment methods; warranty or guarantee; producer or service-provider identity; origin of imported goods; post-purchase, return and cancellation terms; manufacture and expiry dates where relevant; contract terms; review, rating and complaint process |
These disclosure duties come from sections 4 and 6. For the seller, the practical implication is simple: do not treat the product page, footer and policy pages as marketing-only material. They are part of your legal operating set-up.
Build the order, payment and delivery flow before launch
An electronic transaction is a legally valid contract. Your terms need to state delivery, cancellation, return, exchange, warranty and refund arrangements clearly (section 7).
When payment is made directly to you or to a delivery service provider on your behalf, it counts as payment received. Issue an electronic or physical invoice and payment receipt immediately, and keep the transaction record (section 8). For digital payments, use a payment service provider or operator actually licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank rather than an unlicensed gateway. The NRB licensed-operator list supports this check.
Deliver at the agreed location, date and time, unless you and the buyer mutually agree to vary the arrangement and any delivery charge (section 9). Ensure your delivery partner can meet the promise displayed on the product page; a delivery policy cannot be detached from the actual fulfilment process.
Returns, refunds and complaints: set the process up in advance
If goods or services do not match your disclosure, the buyer may return unused and undamaged goods. You must accept the return unconditionally. You may offer a replacement of equal value, but must refund the amount paid, including tax, if the buyer prefers (section 10).
Where the e-commerce Act does not provide the rule, the Consumer Protection Act, 2075 applies to electronic sales as it does to other sales. It generally permits a buyer to return an ordinary purchase within seven days, or sealed goods within 15 days where the seal remains unbroken. The Act also requires physical-goods labels to show the producer's name and address, relevant ingredients or composition, price, batch number, manufacture date and warranty terms.
Maintain an online grievance mechanism. The designated contact must register, investigate and decide a complaint within 15 days (Electronic Commerce Act, 2081, section 33). Give that person or team access to order records, delivery records and the published product description so they can resolve a complaint against the information the customer saw.
Customer data: collect only what the order needs
An e-commerce business must keep personal information confidential and cannot use or disclose it except as prevailing law permits. It cannot prevent a user from accessing, correcting or deactivating their own personal information. The business, buyer and delivery provider may exchange the transaction details needed to fulfil the order (Electronic Commerce Act, 2081, section 12).
The Privacy Act, 2075 requires consent before collecting personal or family data and limits use to the purpose for which it was collected, subject to narrow legal exceptions. Set out a written privacy policy, limit collection to information necessary for the transaction, and do not pass customer details to marketing partners or delivery subcontractors beyond what fulfilment requires.
Marketplace, imports and regulated goods change the route
| Your model | Extra point to resolve |
|---|---|
| Direct seller of its own stock | You carry direct responsibility for delivery timing, warranty compliance and product authenticity. |
| Marketplace listing other sellers | You must vet listed sellers, accept returns for goods facilitated through the platform and avoid unfair preference among similar sellers. |
| Imported goods | Disclose the country of production or processing; the underlying import remains subject to customs and trade rules. |
| Regulated goods | Obtain the separate licence or meet the separate condition before listing or selling. |
The marketplace and direct-seller distinctions are in sections 11, 14 and 15. If you use both your own website and a third-party marketplace, apply the relevant responsibility to each part of the business rather than assuming the marketplace absorbs the seller's obligations.
What can happen if you skip the e-commerce requirements
Operating without an electronic platform, failing to obtain platform listing, omitting product or service information or breaching defined seller duties can attract an inspection-officer fine of NPR 20,000 to NPR 100,000, depending on severity. A business may appeal that fine to the Director General within seven days (sections 21 and 22).
More serious breaches involving warranty, return, refund or authenticity commitments can carry a fine of NPR 50,000 to NPR 500,000, imprisonment of six months to three years, or both. Misleading advertising and privacy breaches also have separate consequences under consumer-protection and privacy law (Electronic Commerce Act, 2081, sections 21, 23, 25 and 26).
Launch checklist for an online retailer
- The selling firm or company is registered.
- The business, not just an individual, has obtained a PAN.
- VAT eligibility has been checked against current IRD rules.
- The website, app or permitted marketplace presence is established.
- The DoCSCP platform-listing application is complete and the Platform Listing Number is displayed.
- Business, product, delivery, cancellation, return, warranty and grievance disclosures are live and easy to find.
- Invoicing, payment receipts, transaction records and licensed payment arrangements are ready.
- Privacy, complaint-handling and delivery processes work in practice.
- Any regulated-product, import or marketplace-specific approvals have been confirmed.
