Nepal has taken one step forward and three steps back in promoting electric vehicles with a steep rise in the excise and customs duties in the new budget presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada on Thursday.

Despite saying in his speech that the government would “encourage” electric vehicles, details of the budget give a completely different picture. The excise tax of only 10% on battery cars has now been raised to 40-60%, and on top of that there is another 60% customs.