Nepal Rastra Bank has extended the deadline for flood-affected borrowers to pay principal and interest instalments until the end of Poush, directing licensed Class A, B and C banks and financial institutions to provide the additional time. The central bank issued a circular on Tuesday, amending the Unified Directive, 2082, and moving the payment deadline from the end of Ashoj to the end of Poush. The relief applies to enterprises, projects and businesses directly affected by floods in the Bhote Koshi and Budhi Gandaki river areas, including those affected through the Rasuwa customs point.
What the central bank directed
Under the amended directive, the covered borrowers have additional time to pay their principal and interest instalments. Banks and financial institutions licensed in Classes A, B and C have been instructed to extend the payment period in line with the circular. The change replaces the previous deadline of the end of Ashoj with the end of Poush.
The extension is a change to the payment timetable under the Unified Directive, 2082. It does not apply to all borrowers: eligibility is tied to direct flood impacts in the specified river areas and through the Rasuwa customs point. The central bank’s notice was reported by Khabarhub.
Who is covered by the relief
The measure covers enterprises, projects and businesses directly affected by floods in the Bhote Koshi and Budhi Gandaki river areas. It also includes businesses affected through the Rasuwa customs point. Borrowers seeking the extra time must therefore fall within the affected activities and locations identified by the directive; the extension is not described as a general change to repayment deadlines across the banking sector.
The circular applies to licensed Class A, B and C banks and financial institutions. These institutions are the entities instructed to extend the deadline for eligible borrowers. The announcement identifies principal and interest instalments as the payments covered by the revised timetable.
What the deadline change means
The central bank has shifted the specified payment deadline by three Nepali calendar months, from the end of Ashoj to the end of Poush. For eligible borrowers, that means the deadline to pay the covered instalments now falls at the end of Poush rather than the end of Ashoj. The circular does not, in the available details, describe a waiver of the debt or of interest; it sets out an extension of the time to make the payments.
The decision links the relief to businesses and projects affected by flooding in the named areas, including disruption connected with the Rasuwa customs point. It also places responsibility on the licensed institutions to implement the revised deadline for borrowers who meet the stated conditions. Borrowers and lenders will need to apply the amended directive according to the coverage set out in the circular.
