Expensive gifts for the Festivals

Nepalese people take festivals that come every year with special importance. Especially during big festivals like Dasain and Tihar, it is seen that not only family gatherings, worship in monasteries but also increase in the demand for goods and services in the market. For this reason, such festivals are considered important not only from religious, cultural and social aspects but also economically.

Considering this importance, it is a tradition for various employers to give additional gifts to their employees in addition to their regular income. Employers give allowances as gifts, cash and cash as bonuses to their employees. This time, the government has also given gifts to all the citizens on the occasion of the festival. That gift is known as expensive.

Nepali people give special importance to their customs, culture, traditions and customs. It is a tradition for relatives and family members who are away from their home throughout the year to return to their native place on the big festivals like Dasaantihar. Just like the first bale of stone, the fare of vehicles returning home has become more expensive compared to previous years. As the prices of petroleum products are increasing day by day, air and bus fares have also increased. Similarly, during big festivals, the demand for clothes and food is more than other times. On the one hand, the market price has increased due to various national and international reasons. On the other hand, due to lax monitoring by the government, the black market is flourishing. This seems to have seriously affected the common consumers.

Most of the items available in the Nepali market are imported. In particular, the import of food grains is more from the neighboring country India. In recent times, India has tightened the export of food items like wheat, rice, flour, and sugar and has also increased the tax rates on such items. Its impact has directly affected the Nepali market. Similarly, through the budget of the current year, the government of Nepal has added 13 percent value added tax on items like potatoes, onions, green vegetables, fruits, and meat. Earlier, such agricultural products were taxed at 14% with 9% agricultural service charge and 5% advance income tax. Even this new tax policy has become a major factor in the cost of daily consumer goods.

It seems that the unnatural increase in the price of Marmasala, which is used more during big festivals like Dasain and Tihar, can make the festival of the common people more chaotic. Similarly, the prices of food and food products have increased by 13.20 percent, dairy products and eggs by 12.19 percent, restaurants and hotels by 11.05 percent, and vegetables by 10.80 percent.

The government has launched the concession shop, which has been operating every year targeting major festivals, this year as well. This year, from October 21, concession shops have been operating in different places of the country. According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, 49 food supply and trading companies, 35 salt trading corporations and 11 dairy development institutes have given discounts on their products.

It also seems that it is not able to address the problems of the consumers. Complaints have been heard that the consumers are not able to get the expected benefits because only limited items are available in such shops. The 95 concession shops that the government has put into operation for about 30 million Nepalese people have been seen as an elephant in the mouth.

Consumers have the right to find out the merits and demerits of any goods and services. It seems that the consumer has to move forward for his rights after taking proper account of it. When purchasing goods and services, it is the duty of the consumer to collect the product and maturity date, measurement, weight, quality, manufacturer’s account, as well as the bill they should receive.

It is necessary for the responsible government agencies related to consumer rights to prepare a result-oriented action plan and pay proper attention to the measurement of the quality of goods and services from market monitoring. With the demand of time, there is a need to amend the laws related to consumer rights to cover the rights and rights of consumers who are physically present to digital consumers.