SAFTA — the South Asian Free Trade Area — lets Nepal import many goods from its SAARC neighbours at a lower, preferential customs duty than the general rate. But it is a scalpel, not a blanket: it helps a lot on some products and nothing on others. Here is exactly where it saves you money, and what you need to claim it.
SAFTA is the free-trade agreement of the SAARC bloc — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — in force since 2006. It phases down customs duties on trade between members. Nepal is a Least Developed Country (LDC) under SAFTA, which gives it more favourable terms: deeper tariff cuts from partners and an easier Rules-of-Origin threshold (30% local value instead of 40%). On customsnepal.com, the “India & SAARC” duty shown on every HS code is this SAFTA preferential rate.
Computed from the Nepal Customs Tariff 2026/27 — 6192 tariff lines compared. Average general duty 12.8% vs SAFTA 10.0%. The benefit is concentrated: some segments save double digits, others get almost nothing (they sit on the Sensitive List).
| Product segment | General | SAFTA | Avg saving | Big savers | SAFTA benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furniture, lighting & toys | 16.0% | 7.4% | 8.5 pts | 57 | Strong |
| Base metals & steel | 13.4% | 8.6% | 4.9 pts | 68 | Strong |
| Footwear & headgear | 21.3% | 16.8% | 4.5 pts | 13 | Strong |
| Wood, paper & print | 12.9% | 9.0% | 3.9 pts | 8 | Strong |
| Stone, glass, gems & jewellery | 15.2% | 11.6% | 3.6 pts | 10 | Strong |
| Agriculture & food | 13.9% | 11.1% | 2.8 pts | 20 | Selective |
| Chemicals & pharmaceuticals | 9.4% | 6.7% | 2.7 pts | 25 | Selective |
| Minerals & fuels | 11.4% | 9.0% | 2.4 pts | 3 | Selective |
| Instruments & medical | 7.0% | 4.9% | 2.1 pts | 13 | Selective |
| Plastics & rubber | 18.1% | 16.2% | 1.9 pts | 7 | Limited |
| Vehicles & transport | 24.4% | 22.5% | 1.9 pts | 15 | Limited |
| Textiles & garments | 14.2% | 12.6% | 1.6 pts | 46 | Limited |
| Machinery & electronics | 7.6% | 6.2% | 1.5 pts | 10 | Limited |
| Leather & hides | 12.0% | 10.8% | 1.2 pts | 1 | Limited |
The tariff lines with the biggest gap between the general and SAFTA rate — where sourcing from a SAARC country with a valid certificate of origin saves the most. Tap a code for the full breakdown.
| HS code | Product | General | SAFTA | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8715.00.10 | Stroller | 30% | 5% | 25 pts |
| 7301.10.00 | Sheet piling | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7227.90.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7227.20.00 | Of silico-manganese steel | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7227.10.00 | Of high speed steel | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.99.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.92.00 | Otherwise plated or coated with zinc | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.91.00 | Electrolytically plated or coated with zinc | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.50.00 | Other, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced) | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.40.00 | Other, not further worked than hot-rolled, not in coils | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.30.00 | Other, not further worked than hot-rolled, in coils | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.19.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7225.11.00 | Grain-oriented | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7217.90.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7217.30.00 | Plated or coated with other base metals | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7217.20.00 | Plated or coated with zinc | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7217.10.00 | Not plated or coated, whether or not polished | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.99.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.91.00 | Cold-formed or cold-finished from flat-rolled products | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.69.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.61.00 | Obtained from flat-rolled products | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.50.00 | Other angles, shapes and Sections, not further worked than… | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7216.40.00 | L or T Sections, not further worked than hot-rolled, hot-d… | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.90.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.29.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.23.00 | Containing by weight less than 0.25% of carbon | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.19.00 | Other | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.14.00 | Other, of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 7211.13.00 | Rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width e… | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 2101.20.00 | Extracts, essences and concentrates, of tea or mate, and p… | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 1207.91.00 | Poppy seeds | 30% | 6% | 24 pts |
| 9613.80.00 | Other lighters | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 9613.20.00 | Pocket lighters, gas fuelled, refillable | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 9613.10.00 | Pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 9504.40.00 | Playing cards | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 8546.90.00 | Other | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 7317.00.00 | Nails, tacks, drawing pins, corrugated nails, staples (oth… | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 7312.90.00 | Other | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 7312.10.00 | Stranded wire, ropes and cables | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
| 7216.33.00 | H Sections | 30% | 7.25% | 22.75 pts |
296 tariff lines across the tariff save 10 percentage points or more under SAFTA; 256 qualify for a fully duty-free (0%) SAARC rate. Showing the top 40.
The preferential rate is not automatic. Three conditions must all be met:
For imports from India, the bilateral Nepal–India Treaty of Trade is often more generous than SAFTA, so it is usually used instead. SAFTA matters most for imports from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan (and Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan). Always compare the bilateral route with the SAFTA route for the specific product.
Figures computed from the Nepal Customs Tariff 2026/27 (general vs SAARC rate per HS line; specific/compound-rate lines excluded). The SAARC rate applies only with a valid certificate of origin and Rules-of-Origin compliance.