Do you need a website under Nepal's E-Commerce Act, 2081?

You have probably heard the recent claim: if you sell through TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp, the government now requires you to have a website. You may have seen it in a video, heard it from another seller, or received it in a business group chat.

Perhaps you sell kurtas on TikTok Live. A customer sends you her size and address on WhatsApp, you send an eSewa QR, and a courier collects the parcel the next morning. Should you stop accepting orders until someone builds you a website?

Before you spend money or change the way you sell, it helps to check what Nepal's E-Commerce Act, 2081 actually says. The recent news is mainly about enforcement of rules that already cover websites, apps, online marketplaces, and sales made through social media.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against the Electronic Commerce Act, 2081 and public information available on August 3, 2026. Ask the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection or a Nepali lawyer about your particular business.

If you accept orders online, you are likely conducting electronic commerce. You need a registered business, an electronic platform that shows prescribed information, and a government e-commerce listing. The law does not say that every TikTok or Instagram seller must own a standalone website.

For many sellers, a website will still be the simplest place to show the required information and take orders. That is a practical choice, not the exact wording of the law.

Does the law require a standalone website?

Here is the useful version:

• If TikTok or Instagram is only used for advertising and the transaction happens elsewhere, the activity may fall outside the Act's definition of e-commerce.
• If customers place orders through DMs, comments, Live sessions, WhatsApp, a marketplace, an app, or a website, the law is likely relevant.
• Most e-commerce businesses must establish an electronic platform and list it with the Commerce Department.
• Micro and cottage businesses may use another electronic platform. The Act does not force this group to build a private website.
• A Facebook page or TikTok account does not remove the need for business registration, tax details, consumer information, and government listing.

The phrase electronic platform matters here. Section 2 of the official Electronic Commerce Act, 2081 includes websites, applications, software, the internet, intranets, and social-media marketplaces. Section 4 requires e-commerce operators to establish such a platform, then gives micro and cottage entrepreneurs permission to use another electronic platform.

The same definition contains a narrow exception. Using an electronic platform only to provide information or promote a product is not treated as e-commerce. A TikTok video that tells people about a shop is different from a TikTok account that takes an order and agrees to deliver it.

The official Nepali text controls. If the difference affects your business, get advice based on your registration type and sales process.

Why this is in the news again

The Act is not brand new. It took effect in April 2025 and gave existing operators three months to apply for listing. The Department issued a public notice ahead of the July 18, 2025 deadline.

Enforcement became more concrete in 2026. In January, the Kathmandu Post reported new ICT minimum standards, system audits, electronic invoicing, data-security duties, and a process for suspending unlisted platforms. The rules apply to sales through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp as well as private websites and apps. The report also distinguishes proof of domain ownership for a private platform from hosting arrangements for a third-party platform. That distinction is another reason to be careful with the claim that a private website is the only legal route. Read the January 2026 report.

In February, Fiscal Nepal reported that the E-Commerce Directive 2082 had taken immediate effect. It described seven-day listing orders, platform closure for continued non-compliance, electronic invoices for cash payments, and five-year recordkeeping. Read the February 2026 report.

So the current news is really about enforcement. The basic duties came from the 2025 Act; the 2026 measures tell businesses more about how the Department intends to inspect and enforce them.

Which social sellers are likely covered?

The easiest test is to look at where the order becomes real.

A clothing page posts videos on TikTok and tells customers to visit a physical shop. TikTok is being used for promotion. No online order is taken.

A customer comments "book this" during TikTok Live, then sends an address by message. The offer, acceptance, or order process is happening electronically. Treat this as e-commerce.

An Instagram seller collects orders in DMs and asks for an eSewa screenshot. This is an online sale even though there is no shopping cart.

A home-based achar business takes WhatsApp orders. The business may qualify as a micro or cottage enterprise, but that does not make consumer and registration duties disappear. The Section 4 exception concerns the use of another electronic platform.

A merchant lists products on Daraz or another marketplace. The Act separates responsibilities between marketplace operators and sellers. The seller still has duties relating to accurate product information, registration details, delivery, and returns.

If your process mixes online and offline steps, write it down from first contact to payment and delivery. A lawyer or Department officer can give a much better answer when shown the actual flow.

What the platform must tell customers

A registered company name in the footer is not enough. Sections 4 and 6 require enough information for a buyer to make an informed decision.

The business information includes:

• Platform and business name
• Business address and registration details
• Registered office, branches, and outlets where applicable
• PAN or VAT number
• Email, telephone, social-media links, and customer-service contact
• Contact for the person or unit handling complaints
• Government e-commerce listing number

For each product or service, the platform should show the final price including tax, delivery charges, expected delivery time, payment methods, warranty terms, return conditions, and cancellation rules.

This is where DM selling becomes awkward. A product video, an old price in the caption, a delivery quote in one message, and a return policy buried in a saved Story do not give every buyer the same information. A small storefront puts those details beside the product and keeps the agreed order in one place.

How to list an online business

Start with the underlying business. Section 3 says a firm, company, or institution must be registered under the applicable law and permitted to trade the goods or services it sells. The e-commerce listing comes after business registration. It does not replace firm registration, PAN, sector licences, or local permits.

The usual sequence is:

1. Register the firm or company under the law that fits the business.
2. Obtain PAN, and VAT registration if it applies.
3. Set up the platform used to take orders and publish the required information.
4. Apply for e-commerce listing through the Department's online system.
5. Add the issued listing number to the platform.
6. Update changed platform information within the time required by the Act and directive.

The Department's Firm Management Information System has a separate sign-up path for e-commerce firm listing. The Department is supposed to issue a listing number within seven days after receiving a complete application.

Application details include the registered business name and address, certificate number, owner or director identification, PAN or VAT number, business description, telephone, email, social links, contact address, and branch information. The 2026 reporting also mentions policy documents, platform ownership or hosting evidence, and a system audit report.

Do not copy a document checklist from an old Facebook post and assume it is complete. Open the current government form first, then ask the Department about any field that does not fit a social-media business.

Invoices, payments, refunds, and records

Registration is only the first job.

The 2026 directive, as reported in February, requires electronic invoices even when a customer pays cash. Digital transactions must use payment gateways approved by Nepal Rastra Bank. Refunds that are due must be processed within seven days. Businesses must keep transaction records, invoices, complaints, and responses for at least five years.

The platform also needs a working complaint process. A phone number that nobody answers will not do much for a customer or an inspection officer. Keep a record of the complaint, what you offered, when you replied, and how it ended.

Data handling deserves similar care. Names, phone numbers, delivery addresses, passwords, and payment details are personal information. The reported ICT standards require encryption and safeguards against unauthorised access. If you run a custom site, ask who patches it, backs it up, and responds to a breach. A cheap website abandoned after launch can create more risk than it removes.

What can happen if you ignore the rules

Sections 21 and 22 treat operating without the required electronic platform, operating without listing, and selling without the prescribed product information as offences. An inspection officer may impose a fine from NPR 20,000 to NPR 100,000, depending on the offence.

The Act contains higher penalties for a separate group of more serious breaches. Those provisions should not be flattened into a social-media headline saying every unregistered page owner faces prison. The registration-related penalty is the one most small sellers need to understand first.

Under the 2026 directive described by Fiscal Nepal, an unlisted operator can be ordered to apply within seven days. Continued failure can lead to action to remove or close the platform.

A sensible setup for a TikTok or Instagram seller

You do not have to abandon social media. TikTok and Instagram are where customers discover products, ask questions, and decide whether they trust a seller. Keep using them for that work.

Move the order itself to a stable platform when you can. Put one link in the bio. That page should identify the business, show final prices, explain delivery and returns, provide a complaint contact, and record the order. Once the Department issues a listing number, display it there.

For a very small or cottage business using a third-party platform, confirm with the Department what it accepts as the platform and what evidence it expects during listing. Do this before paying someone to build a site solely because a viral post told you it was mandatory.

For a growing seller, the case for a private storefront is stronger. It gives you one durable address for checkout, policies, local payments, delivery charges, and repeat orders. Social-media rules, reach, and account access can change without notice. Your product catalogue and customer records should not depend entirely on a feed.

If you are still choosing between social selling, a marketplace, and a private store, read our comparison of ways to sell online in Nepal. For the full launch sequence, including registration, payments, and courier setup, use the 2026 guide to starting an online business in Nepal.

Do not build a website because of a rumour, and do not assume a social account is enough because it has worked so far. Confirm the category your business falls into, complete the registration and listing steps that apply, then use a platform that can show customers what the law requires.