Nepal’s revenue from the export of IT services increased by 20.28 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year

In comparison to the results in the same period of the previous fiscal year, Nepal’s revenue from the export of information technology (IT) services climbed by 20.28 percent during the four months of the current fiscal year 2024–2025.

The revenue from the export of IT services has increased, per data made public by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) as of mid-November. The export of IT services brought in a total of Rs 5.56 billion for the nation by the end of mid-November of last year.

The nation’s revenue from the export of IT services, which included Rs 1.72 billion from tele-communication, Rs 4.96 billion from computer services, and Rs 9.3 billion from information services, was Rs 6.69 billion as of mid-November of the current fiscal year.

Nepal purchased Rs 1.19 billion worth of IT services during the study period. As a result of the import and export of IT services, the nation enjoys an excess of Rs 5.50 billion. As of mid-November, Nepal imported Rs 456.8 million worth of telecommunication services, Rs 684.1 million worth of computer services, and Rs 52.1 million worth of information services.

Nepal has been exporting a range of software products, applications, and other information technology-related services lately. Nepal’s IT services are becoming more and more in demand on the global market. Since the majority of payments to service providers come through unofficial channels, the actual revenue from the export of IT services is significantly higher than the revenue recorded in government records.

It has been revealed that some people have been retaining their earnings in this way overseas. Authorities in the government believe that some of this money is entering the nation illegally through hundi and other unofficial means. In addition to bureaucratic obstacles, exporters do not formally declare a large portion of their earnings since they must comply with tax requirements. Furthermore, it can be difficult to bring in this money through formal channels because these earnings sometimes originate from informal, personal, or outsourcing sources.

As a result, this type of money is typically given informally. Despite this, the NRB data indicates that income is rising.

Prior research by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) revealed that exports of IT services brought in USD 515 million for Nepal. According to the study’s assessment, the nation’s informal and formal IT service export earnings are about equal.

According to the survey, 66,500 IT workers in Nepal export services connected to information technology to other nations. It was noted, meanwhile, that about half of the funds were entered through unofficial rather than official methods. According to stakeholders, Nepal’s economy would greatly benefit if these sums were included in the official system.