How to sell online in Nepal: register, get paid, and take orders without losing them
To sell online in Nepal you can start with a Facebook page, an Instagram account or a WhatsApp number, but you must also register your online business with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection. Then decide how customers pay (cash on delivery, eSewa, Khalti) and keep every order in one list so none is lost.
Updated
Step 1: Register your online business
Nepal's E-Commerce Act took effect in April 2025. Press reports say it covers every online seller, including a single person selling through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or WhatsApp. Existing sellers had until 18 July 2025 to register. Businesses that start later can still register.
Registration is online through the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection. As reported, the form asks for the platform name, your business registration number, office address, the registered name of the business, whether you run your own platform or list products on someone else's, and a contact person for customer complaints.
The fine for an unregistered seller can be up to Rs 200,000. Only 950 businesses had registered by the deadline, so many small sellers are still unregistered. We could not open the department's own site when we wrote this, so check the current steps and any fee with the department before you start.
Step 2: Choose how customers pay
Cash on delivery
Customers trust it and it needs no paperwork from you. The risk is the order that comes back: you still pay the rider. Confirm every order by message before it leaves.
eSewa
A sole proprietor with transactions under NPR 1 lakh in a fiscal year can use a lighter document list: a letter from the ward office confirming the business, a copy of your citizenship and your personal PAN, plus a business registration if you have one. At NPR 1 lakh or more, eSewa asks for the firm registration certificate, PAN or VAT certificate, tax clearance and citizenship copy. eSewa's page states no fees or settlement time.
Khalti
For a sole proprietorship or partnership firm, Khalti asks for the business registration certificate, PAN or VAT certificate, latest tax clearance and the owner's identity document. Its terms list a one-time fee, an annual charge from the second year and a percentage on each transaction, but give no amounts. Ask Khalti for the figures before you decide. Money collected sits in your Khalti account and you can withdraw it to a partner bank.
Step 3: Say exactly what you sell
The Act, as reported, says buyers get a full refund when the product differs from the advertisement in design, image, weight, warranty terms or country of origin. Sellers cannot refuse a refund for defective, delayed or misrepresented goods.
It also says changes to price, availability or specifications must be posted within 24 to 48 hours. In practice: use real photos, write the price and the size or weight in the post, and update the post the same day when stock runs out.
- Keep one price list. A price in the post, a different one in the inbox and a third on the parcel is how refund disputes start.
- Write the delivery charge and the expected days before the customer orders.
Step 4: Keep every order in one place
Most small shops in Nepal take orders in Messenger, Instagram direct messages and WhatsApp at the same time. Orders get lost between the three. Pick one list, even a shared sheet, and write each order there the moment it arrives: name, phone number, address, items, total, payment method, status.
Then answer fast. A customer who asks 'price?' at 9 pm and hears back at noon has often bought somewhere else. A saved reply with your price list and delivery terms takes care of the first message.
- 1Write the order in your list as soon as it arrives.
- 2Send the customer the items, the total with delivery and the delivery day, and ask them to confirm.
- 3Dispatch only confirmed orders.
- 4Mark the order delivered or returned, so at the end of the month you can see how many came back.
What to check before you start
- You have started registration with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection.
- You know which payment methods you will offer and have the documents ready for eSewa or Khalti if you want them.
- Your posts show the real price, size or weight, and delivery terms.
- Every order goes into one list, and every order gets a confirmation.
Where we have built this
We built DropStore, an online store where customers order on WhatsApp, for a shop owner in Bhairahawa. Khatra Tickets, live at khatratickets.com, takes eSewa and Khalti payments straight into each organiser's own account. If you want orders from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to land in one list with automatic replies, see how we set that up.
See how we automate shop messagesQuestions owners ask
Do I need to register if I only sell on Facebook or Instagram?
According to Kathmandu Post's report on the law, yes: it covers individuals who sell through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp. Check the current rules with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection.
Can I accept eSewa without a registered company?
eSewa lists a lighter route for a sole proprietor with transactions below NPR 1 lakh a year, using a ward office letter, citizenship copy and personal PAN. Above that amount it asks for a firm registration certificate and tax documents.
What does Khalti charge a merchant?
Its merchant terms name a one-time fee, an annual charge from year two and a percentage per transaction, but publish no amounts. Ask Khalti's merchant team for the current figures.
What happens if I do not register?
The reported penalty is a fine of up to Rs 200,000.
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