The short version
- Nepal has a specific non-resident digital-service procedure.
- Location indicators determine whether consumption is connected with Nepal.
- Registration uses a separate process.
- Marketplace facts can change responsibility.
Identify a digital service
The procedure covers specified automated or technology-dependent supplies such as advertising, streaming, cloud, gaming, apps, marketplaces, software and downloads. A human-led consultancy delivered by email may require different analysis.
Test Nepal connection
Indicators can include receipt in Nepal, Nepal billing address, local payment instrument, Nepal IP address or Nepal SIM/telephone information. Retain the indicators used by the platform.
Registration and invoice process
A non-resident without a Nepal establishment follows the prescribed digital-service registration, return and invoicing process. Confirm the current threshold and portal requirements from IRD.
Do not confuse taxes
Digital-service VAT, income-tax withholding and digital service tax can be separate questions. Analyse each legal base instead of treating one deduction as settlement of every Nepal tax.
A practical control to retain
Platforms should document which location indicators are collected, how conflicts are resolved and how long evidence is retained. Nepal customers should distinguish VAT shown by a registered non-resident from withholding or other tax obligations in their own accounts. Recheck the procedure, registration threshold and covered-service list before launch or a business-model change. Digital tax rules evolve faster than ordinary invoice routines.
For foreign digital suppliers, nepal customers and advisers, the sign-off should answer the guide's four core questions in writing: Nepal has a specific non-resident digital-service procedure. Location indicators determine whether consumption is connected with Nepal. Registration uses a separate process. Marketplace facts can change responsibility. Record who checked those answers, the source date and any unresolved fact. If a later invoice, contract or Schedule amendment changes one answer, reopen the classification or return treatment instead of silently carrying the old assumption forward.
Where to check the details
For an important payroll, filing or financial decision, open the source itself and check whether anything has changed since this guide was updated.
- VAT Act, 2052 — IRD consolidated baseline
Use the current Act and its Schedules to classify the supply, rate, credit and filing consequence.
- VAT Act and Schedules archive — IRD
Official archive for consolidated Acts and Schedule materials; annual amendments can change individual lines.
- VAT Directive — third amendment 2080 — IRD
Administrative guidance and worked treatment; the Act and current amendment prevail if they differ.
- IRD VAT frequently asked questions
Official practical guidance, including the currently stated registration thresholds.