Published August 18, 2026.
If you sell anything through a Facebook page, an Instagram shop, a TikTok account, a mobile app, or a website in Nepal, the government now considers you an e-commerce business — and it wants you registered. On Bhadra 2, 2083 (August 18, 2026), the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection issued an urgent notice reminding every online seller that registration under the Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Act, 2081 isn't optional, and warning that businesses operating without registration, or through unregistered and illegal platforms, will face strict legal action.
This isn't a brand-new law. The Act has been in force for well over a year, and an earlier registration window for existing businesses technically closed back in mid-2025. What's new is the Department publicly renewing the pressure — naming the social media platforms Nepali sellers actually use, telling consumers directly to buy only from listed sellers, and putting operators on notice that this is being enforced, not just sitting quietly in the law. If you run any kind of online business in Nepal — from a home bakery taking orders over WhatsApp to a full storefront on your own site — this is worth understanding in detail rather than assuming it applies to someone else.
What's in this guide
- What the Department just announced
- The legal basis — the E-Commerce Act, 2081
- Who counts as e-commerce under the Act
- The two obligations: platform disclosure and portal registration
- Why this notice, now
- How to actually register
- What non-compliance risk looks like
- Frequently asked questions
- Bottom line
What the Department just announced
The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection, under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, issued a notice requiring every business and stakeholder selling goods or services electronically to complete the prescribed process and register with the Department. Separate reporting on the same notice specifically names Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, alongside apps and websites, as the channels the Department expects sellers to register regardless of which one they actually use.
The stated reason is consumer protection: the Department says complaints about consumer confusion, fraud, and the sale of substandard goods or services through electronic and digital payment channels have been rising quickly. Its warning is direct — businesses found operating without completing registration, or through unregistered or illegal electronic platforms, face strict legal action under the E-Commerce Act, 2081 and other prevailing laws. On the consumer side, the Department has also told the public to buy only from listed, registered portals, which puts a second kind of pressure on unregistered sellers beyond the legal one — a visible trust signal aimed directly at their customers.
The legal basis — the E-Commerce Act, 2081
The requirement itself comes from the Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Act, 2081, gazetted on Chaitra 3, 2081 and in force since Baisakh 2, 2082 (mid-April 2025), together with the Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Directive, 2082, which the Ministry issued to operationalize the Act — covering the registration portal, its procedures, and a usage manual for businesses going through the process.
Under the original rollout, businesses already operating electronically when the Act commenced were given a three-month window to register, which fell due around Shrawan 2082 (mid-July 2025). Any new business starting operations after that point has always been required to register before it begins trading, not after. By the Department's own account at the time, a few hundred businesses had applied ahead of that original deadline — a modest number set against how many Nepali sellers actually run a shop, service, or storefront through Facebook, Instagram, or a website. That gap is almost certainly why the Department is renewing the notice now, more than a year later, rather than treating the original deadline as the end of the matter.
Who counts as e-commerce under the Act
The Act's definition of e-commerce is broader than most people assume, and it's worth reading carefully rather than skimming past it. It covers two categories. The first is goods — anything consumers use or consume, plus the raw materials used to manufacture those goods — when they're bought or sold electronically. The second is a specific, named list of services when the transaction happens electronically: electricity, drinking water, telephone, information technology, health, education and consulting, hospitality, tourism, entertainment, transportation, freight and logistics, repair and maintenance, banking, insurance, legal, audit, medical, and engineering services are all listed explicitly.
On top of both categories, the Act separately defines e-commerce as any system that uses a computer, mobile phone, or other electronic device — through a website, app, software, the internet, an intranet, or a social media marketplace — to collect, transmit, or store information in order to trade goods or services. That third piece is what pulls in a Facebook page or Instagram shop even when there's no formal "platform" involved in any technical sense: if a customer can find you, place an order, or pay you through a website, app, or social page, you are almost certainly inside this definition.
This matters because the named service list reaches well past what most people picture when they hear "e-commerce." A law firm taking client inquiries and fee payments through its website, an accounting or audit practice booking clients online, a clinic scheduling and billing patients digitally, an insurance agent or engineering consultant selling services through a booking page — all of these fall inside the Act's definition once the transaction happens electronically, not just stores selling physical products through Daraz-style storefronts.
The two obligations: platform disclosure and portal registration
The Act creates two separate requirements, and both apply — completing one doesn't excuse the other.
Under Section 4, every e-commerce business must establish an electronic platform and disclose specific information directly on it: the platform's name, the business name, its address, the registering authority and registration certificate number, the PAN or VAT registration number, contact email and phone, a social media address, and the contact details of the person or unit responsible for handling consumer complaints. A Facebook page or Instagram shop counts as this "electronic platform" for a business that sells through one — the disclosures need to actually appear where customers see them, not on a separate website nobody visits.
Under Section 5, the business itself must also be registered on the Department's own e-commerce portal, which requires submitting the business registration certificate, identification details of the proprietor, partner, or company director, a clear description of the business, the contact address, and the number and location of branches or outlets if there's more than one. Both requirements assume you already have a registered business and a PAN or VAT number in hand — the e-commerce listing sits on top of your underlying registration, it doesn't substitute for it. That's the point where a genuinely informal online seller, one who's been taking orders and payments without ever registering a firm or applying for PAN, hits a wall: there's a registration step to complete before the e-commerce registration is even possible. Our guides on registering a sole proprietorship and applying for PAN cover that starting point.
Why this notice, now
Reading the timeline in order says something the notice itself doesn't spell out directly. The Act came into force in Baisakh 2082. Existing businesses had roughly three months to register, a window that closed around Shrawan 2082. By the Department's own numbers at that point, only a few hundred businesses had applied — a small fraction of Nepal's actual population of Facebook shops, Instagram sellers, and small e-commerce sites. Now, in Bhadra 2083, over a year after that original deadline passed quietly, the Department has issued a fresh, sharper notice: naming the specific platforms people actually sell through, warning of strict legal action, and telling consumers directly to avoid unregistered sellers.
Put together, that reads less like a brand-new requirement and more like a government agency moving from a quiet compliance window to active enforcement after the quiet approach didn't produce much registration. "The original deadline already passed and nothing happened" isn't a safe conclusion to draw from that pattern — a renewed, sharper warning after a long gap is typically a sign that enforcement is about to start in earnest, not that the rule has faded away.
How to actually register
Registering has a natural order to it, since each step depends on the one before it. Start with your underlying business registration — a registered firm or company — and your PAN, plus VAT registration if your turnover crosses the applicable threshold (our VAT registration threshold guide covers those figures). Without these, you can't complete the Department's portal submission, since it specifically asks for your registration certificate and PAN or VAT number.
From there, two things need to happen. First, update your electronic platform — your website, app, or the social page you actually sell through — with the Section 4 disclosures: business name, address, registration and PAN/VAT numbers, contact details, and a named contact for consumer complaints. Second, submit your registration to the Department's e-commerce portal under Section 5, along with your business registration certificate, owner or director identification, a description of your business, your contact address, and branch details if you have more than one location.
Worth being direct about: the Department's notice itself doesn't publish a fresh, itemized checklist or a new deadline the way the original 2082 rollout did — it's a renewed mandatory requirement backed by a warning, pointing businesses to the Department's own website and portal manual for the current procedural detail. Because portal-level specifics are the kind of thing that changes, the safer approach is confirming the current process directly with the Department at the time you register, or working with someone who can check your specific position, rather than relying on a static list of steps that may have moved on by the time you use it.
If you're not sure whether your online business falls under this definition, or you know it does but you're missing the underlying registration you'd need before you can even file the e-commerce listing, reach out to CompanySathi. Sorting out your business registration, PAN, and VAT status — the actual prerequisites the Department's portal asks for — is part of the compliance support we provide.
What non-compliance risk looks like
The Department's warning is specific: businesses found operating without registration, or through an unregistered or illegal electronic platform, face strict legal action under the E-Commerce Act, 2081 and other prevailing laws. That's the direct legal exposure. There's a second, less obvious one sitting alongside it — the Department has told consumers to buy only from listed, registered portals, which means an unregistered seller isn't just carrying legal risk quietly in the background, they're carrying a visible trust gap with the exact customers this messaging is reaching.
As with most compliance gaps in Nepal, an unresolved registration issue also tends to surface at inconvenient moments rather than staying contained — payment gateway onboarding, marketplace partnerships, loan applications, or a routine check against your tax clearance certificate can all run into a missing registration you'd rather have handled proactively. Treating this notice as a prompt to check your status now, rather than waiting to see how strictly it gets enforced, is the more comfortable position to be in either way.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register if I only sell through a Facebook or Instagram page?
Yes. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has explicitly named Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram as covered channels. The Electronic Commerce Act's definition includes any system that uses a website, app, or a social media marketplace to trade goods or services, so a Facebook shop or an Instagram page taking orders and payments falls inside the definition regardless of how informal the setup feels.
What exactly counts as "e-commerce" under the Act?
Two categories. First, goods consumers use or consume, and the raw materials used to manufacture them, when traded electronically. Second, a specific list of services when sold or delivered electronically — electricity, drinking water, telephone, IT, health, education and consulting, hospitality, tourism, entertainment, transportation, freight, repair and maintenance, banking, insurance, legal, audit, medical, and engineering services are all named. On top of both, any website, app, software, internet, intranet, or social media marketplace used to collect, transmit, or store information to trade goods or services is defined as e-commerce.
What's the difference between the platform disclosure requirement and the portal registration?
They're two separate obligations under the Act. Section 4 requires you to display specific information directly on your own electronic platform — your website, app, or the social page you sell through — such as your business name, address, registration and PAN/VAT numbers, and complaint contact details. Section 5 separately requires you to register your business on the Department's own e-commerce portal, submitting your business registration certificate, owner identification, a business description, and branch details. Both are required, not one or the other.
I don't have a registered business or PAN yet — can I still register as e-commerce?
No, not directly. The Department's portal registration asks for your business registration certificate and PAN or VAT number as part of the submission, which means basic business registration and PAN need to already be in place first. The e-commerce listing sits on top of your underlying registration rather than replacing it — if you're currently selling informally with no firm or PAN, that's the step to complete before you can register as e-commerce at all.
Is there a new deadline for registration?
The Department's August 2026 notice renews and sharpens the mandatory registration requirement and its warning of legal action, but doesn't publish a new fixed deadline the way the original rollout did. The earlier registration window, for businesses already operating when the Act took effect, closed roughly three months after the law commenced in 2082. New businesses have always been required to register before starting operations. Given the renewed warning, treating this as urgent now is the safer read regardless of whether a specific new date is attached.
What happens if I don't register?
The Department has warned of strict legal action under the E-Commerce Act, 2081 and other prevailing laws for businesses found operating without registration or through an unregistered or illegal electronic platform. Separately, the Department has told consumers to buy only from listed, registered portals, which means staying unregistered carries a visible trust cost with customers as well as a legal one.
Does this apply to service businesses, or only businesses selling physical goods?
It applies to services too. The Act's service list explicitly includes health, education and consulting, legal, audit, medical, banking, insurance, and engineering services, among others, when they're transacted electronically. A clinic booking and billing patients online, a law or accounting firm taking client inquiries and payment through a website, or a consultant selling services through a booking page all fall inside the definition, not just stores selling physical products.
Can CompanySathi help me get registered?
Yes. Confirming whether your online business falls under the Act, and getting your underlying business registration, PAN, and VAT registration in order — the documents the Department's e-commerce portal actually asks for — is a standard part of the registration and compliance support CompanySathi provides. Get in touch through our contact page to check where your business currently stands.
Bottom line
This mandate isn't new, but the enforcement posture around it clearly just changed. The Electronic Commerce Act, 2081 has required online sellers — from Facebook shops to professional service websites — to register with the Department of Commerce for over a year, and the original compliance window came and went with only a modest share of Nepal's online sellers actually registering. The Department's renewed notice, naming the platforms people actually use and warning both businesses and consumers directly, is a clear signal that quiet non-compliance is no longer the safe assumption it may have felt like. If you sell anything online in Nepal — goods or services, through a website or a social page — the practical move is confirming where your business stands now: whether you have the underlying registration and PAN the Department's portal requires, and whether your electronic platform carries the disclosures Section 4 calls for. Our compliance services can help you sort out both. When you're ready, contact CompanySathi to get started.
