Records a Mobile Shop in Nepal Should Keep: VAT and IMEI

A mobile shop in Nepal should be able to show, for any handset it sells, the supplier bill it came on, the VAT bill it left on and the IMEI that links them. It should also keep clean cash, return and repair records. This is about record keeping rather than legal advice. Rules on tax and device registration change, so confirm specifics with the Inland Revenue Department, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority or your accountant.

Why mobile shops face more scrutiny

Handsets are high-value, portable and widely resold, so they attract attention from tax officials, from customers with disputes and sometimes from police when a phone is reported lost. A shop with orderly records can respond calmly. A shop with only loose bills struggles.

VAT records

If your shop is VAT registered, you charge 13% VAT on taxable sales and claim credit for VAT paid on valid purchase bills. The records that support this are:

1. Sales invoices in a continuous sequence, with your PAN or VAT number, the date in Bikram Sambat, item details and VAT shown.
2. Purchase invoices from distributors, with their PAN, kept in order and matched to stock received.
3. Credit and debit notes for returns and corrections.
4. Monthly summaries that your accountant can use to prepare the return.

Whether registration is mandatory for you depends on turnover and business type. Ask the tax office or an accountant, and use official sources for the filing schedule.

IMEI and device records

Telecom regulators in many countries maintain systems to identify and sometimes block devices by IMEI, and Nepal has requirements around the registration of handsets. We do not give you the rule here because it can change. What you can control is your own trace:

• IMEI numbers received on each supplier bill.
• IMEI sold on each customer bill.
• The status of each IMEI: in stock, sold, returned, in repair, replaced.

With this, if a distributor or an authority asks about a handset, you can answer from your records. Check the current requirement with the Nepal Telecommunications Authority and your distributor, and ask them what proof of purchase they expect.

Used phone records

Buying a used phone from an individual involves no distributor invoice, so your own record is the only proof. At a minimum, keep:

Item	Why
Seller name and phone	To contact them if a question arises
Identity note	Shows you took reasonable care
IMEI and model	Links the record to the device
Date and agreed price	Supports your cost in the books
Condition and accessories	Prevents later disputes
Seller declaration	A short signed line that the phone belongs to them

Ask a lawyer or your accountant how to treat used goods for VAT in your situation, since treatment differs from new goods.

Cash, wallet and bank receipts

Customers pay in cash, by bank transfer or by scanning a wallet QR. For accurate books, record the payment mode on each bill and match daily totals. Keep the statement or screenshot reference for non-cash payments in case of a mismatch. Note that recording a payment is different from connecting to a wallet service; the former is simple bookkeeping.

Dealing with a customer enquiry or a police query

Occasionally someone asks about a specific handset: a customer wants proof of purchase, a buyer wants to confirm a phone came from you, or an officer asks about a unit reported lost. Your response should be calm and procedural. Ask for the IMEI, search your records, and show only what is needed about the sale. Do not hand over your whole customer list, and if the request is formal, ask for it in writing and consult a lawyer.

The same approach applies to customer privacy. Names, phone numbers and identity notes of used-phone sellers are personal data. Keep them where only authorised staff can view them, and avoid sharing them on public groups.

Repairs and warranty

Repair income and parts used also need records. A job card should show the device IMEI, work done, parts, charge and delivery. If you pass phones to a distributor service centre, keep a log of dispatch and return dates. Customers lose track, and so do shops.

Retention and backups

Keep sales and purchase records for the period the tax rules require; verify the number of years with the tax office. Digital records need backups in a second location. A laptop that fails at the counter can take years of data with it.

How software helps

A system built for phone shops attaches IMEI to the stock record and keeps VAT bills in sequence. It stores purchase bills, lists returns separately and prints monthly sales and purchase summaries. It does not make you compliant on its own, and WebsNP does not claim any official approval for it, but it does make orderly records easy to produce. See Mobile Shop Software for the features, and VAT billing software for the general billing side.

Next step

Pick any handset you sold last month and see if you can show the supplier bill, the customer bill and the IMEI in one minute. If not, start recording IMEI at purchase from tomorrow. To see the whole flow in software, message WebsNP on WhatsApp at +977 9846280400 for a demo.

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