Individual Corruption

Nepalese citizens have to pay bribes in order to receive a number of public services, ranging from admission to a hospital and medical treatment to electricity connections. For instance, in relation to electricity, the most common form of corruption seems to be paying extra for an uninterrupted supply and bribes to correct over-billing, as reported by Transparency International Corruption in South Asia 2002.

According to Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, it is common for public officials to solicit bribes even for routine services. Most of the rural areas are short of basic public services or local offices, and bribes are often the only way to get access to these services, as well as to get ordinary activities done.

Business Corruption

According to the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009, some companies surveyed expect to give gifts in order to obtain operating licences, or to get access to basic utility services such as phone or electrical connections. The US Department of State 2011 also reports that investors often complain about a lack of transparency in procuring investment licences. Likewise, the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 also illustrates that it is common for companies to make irregular payments or bribes in order to access public utilities.

Moreover, according to Global Integrity 2009, business inspections by government officials to ensure public health and public safety standards are not carried out in a uniform and even-handed manner. The process largely depends upon the discretion of the inspector, whose approach may be inconsistent and arbitrary at times.

Political Corruption

Despite that Nepalese laws criminalise both active and passive bribery, there are often allegations of corruption committed by government officials when distributing permits and approvals, as reported by the US Department of State 2011.

Global Integrity 2009 reports that one of the most notable incidents involving corruption has been the arrest of Prakash Tibrewala in July 2009, who was one of the major defaulters on Nepal's foreign-exchange laws. In 2006, a District Court found him guilty of embezzling USD 600,000 while procuring medical equipment from abroad.

In February 2010, Nepal's Education Minister Ram Chandra Kuswaha was removed from his position amid allegations of corruption, according to a 2010 article by BBC News. The article further reports that, because of these allegations, international donors have suspended millions of USD in funding for schools.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- In order to obtain a construction permit, a company must go through 15 procedures and spend 424 days at a cost of approximately 192.1% of income per capita.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give government administrative requirements (permits, regulations, reporting) in Nepal a score of 2.7 on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- 12% of companies expect to give gifts in order to obtain an operating licence.

- 17.8% of companies expect to give gifts in order to obtain a construction permit.

- Almost 11% of companies expect to give gifts in order to get an electrical connection.

- Approximately 9% of companies expect to give gifts to get a phone connection.

- Less than 1% of companies indicate business licences and permits as a major constraint to doing business.