Paudel, Lekh Nath. 2014 ‘Tackling Firearms Smuggling.’ The Highway Routes: Small Arms Smuggling in Eastern Nepal; Issue Brief No. 4, p. 11. Geneva: Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva / Nepal Armed Violence Assessment (NAVA). 1 November

Relevant contents

The ownership, possession, manufacturing, transfer, and acquisition of arms and ammunition in Nepal are regulated by the 1962 Arms and Ammunitions Act and its subsequent amendments (Government of Nepal, 1962).

Current legislation imposes up to five years imprisonment and fines of up to NPR 100,000 (USD 1,000) for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition (Himalayan Times, 2013).

An individual may own a total of three registered firearms and a family up to six in any combination, in addition to one air gun. The law also allows an individual to obtain a licence for a 12-, 16-, 20-, or 410-bore shotgun, a musket, an air gun, and a .22-bore rifle for security or hunting purposes.

A 2007 amendment to the 1962 Arms and Ammunition Act also prohibited the manufacture or adaptation of firearms or ammunition, in an attempt to curb craft production (Kathmandu Post, 2014)…

In April 2013, ahead of the constitutional assembly elections, the government issued a 30-day amnesty for illegal firearms to be surrendered to the authorities. The initiative met with limited success, however, with only 6,700 weapons surrendered (Xinhua, 2013)…

Police records indicate that from 2009 to 2013 they seized more than 1,400 firearms and over 3,600 rounds of ammunition. Of these, the largest captures of ammunition were in 2010 and 2012, while the largest number of illicit firearms was seized in 2009 and 2011. There was a notable reduction in the number of cases in 2013 (see Figure 3)…

Notes:

Government of Nepal. 1962. Arms and Ammunition Act. Kathmandu: Nepal Law Commission.
http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/site/sites/default/files/Documents/arms.pdf

Himalayan Times. 2013. 'Submit Illegal weapons by March 2008, government says.' 2 March.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Submit+illegal+weapons+by+March+28%26sbquo%3B+says+govt&NewsID=368030

Kathmandu Post. 2014. 'Armed menace.' 19 March
http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/03/19/editorial/armed-menace/386945.html

Xinhua. 2013. 'Nepal brings over 6,700 illegal arms under control.' 22 August.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/805716.shtml#.UhxeA9IjxsA

Last accessed at:
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org