Most compliance failures in Nepal aren't a business deliberately skipping an obligation — they're a deadline nobody was tracking. A basic compliance calendar solves more of this than any amount of after-the-fact cleanup.
Monthly recurring obligations
VAT returns, for registered businesses, are generally due by the 25th of the following Nepali month. ETDS filing for any TDS deducted during the month follows a similar monthly rhythm, with deposit typically due within 25 days of month-end. These are the two obligations that repeat every single month regardless of your business size.
Annual income tax filing
Annual income tax returns are due within three months of the fiscal year-end (Ashoj-end), with a further extension available to Poush-end for those who need it. This is the single highest-stakes annual deadline for most businesses.
OCR annual compliance
Registered companies have annual compliance documentation due to the Office of the Company Registrar, separate from tax filings — a requirement that's easy to overlook since it doesn't route through the IRD at all.
Statutory audit timing
For companies required to have an annual statutory audit, this typically needs to be completed and filed alongside your annual compliance documentation — meaning your books need to be audit-ready well before the OCR deadline itself, not scrambled together in the final weeks.
Building your own calendar
The specific deadlines that apply to your business depend on your entity type, VAT registration status, and whether you have employees subject to TDS. A generic calendar is a starting point — the useful version is one built around your specific registrations, with reminders set well before each date rather than on it.
