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photo: Prakash Chandra Timilsena / Nepal Photo Library

Eleven electric vehicles (EVs) damaged by floods have been left abandoned at the Rasuwa Timure Customs Office after failing to pay customs duties.

Vehicles worth Rs 88.69 million, which were buried in a flood that hit the Lhende River on July 8, 2025, have been left neglected in Timure for an entire year.

As the damaged vehicles are unsellable, the importer, CG Motors, has shown no interest in taking them away. Ten XPeng G6 brand vehicles alone have a combined market value of Rs 84.99 million.

According to Chandiraj Gelal, Non-Gazetted First Class Officer at the Rasuwa Customs Office, the importer is required to pay customs duties amounting to roughly 40 percent of the market value, which comes to around Rs 33.9 million. An EV van valued at Rs 3.7 million also remains abandoned.

Gelal explained that since insurance claims need to be processed, the vehicles have been left exactly as they were at the time of the flood. He added that because the importer has not given the government the authority to auction them, the customs office has been unable to manage or clear them.

“Once the importer submits a formal letter to the government stating that the situation occurred due to a natural disaster, we bring in a mechanical engineer to conduct an evaluation. After that, we proceed with the auction process. But no such step has been taken yet,” he said.

The flood caused total damage worth Rs 705.16 million to imported vehicles and goods. A total of 56 electric and petroleum-powered vehicles were swept away by the floodwaters.

The estimated value of those vehicles stands at Rs 471.28 million. Among them, CG Motors suffered the highest loss, with 40 vehicles worth Rs 330.36 million affected. Out of these, 30 vehicles were valued at Rs 245.37 million.

Ten vehicles worth Rs 84.99 million were completely destroyed by the flood. Furthermore, eight vehicles belonging to Skywell Motors worth Rs 69.92 million, five trucks imported by Spark Pvt. Ltd. worth Rs 44.8 million, and three trucks imported by Evergreen Energy & Investment Pvt. Ltd. worth Rs 22.5 million went missing. In addition, a damaged electric van valued at Rs 3.7 million was recovered. Except for Skywell, all other vehicle brands were insured.

Additionally, cargo-carrying vehicles worth Rs 286.22 million were swept away during the disaster. Among the total losses in that category, goods worth Rs 244.79 million and vehicles worth Rs 41.93 million sustained heavy damage.