Rafting Rules, 2063(2006)

Chapter – 1

Preliminary
1. Short Title & Commencement : (1)These Rules may be called “Rafting Rules, 2063”.
(2) These Rules shall come into force immediately.

2.Definitions : Unless the subject or context otherwise requires in
these Rules :
(a) “Act” means Tourism Act, 2035.
(b) “Rafting” means the travel to be made for the entertainment or natural or cultural sightseeing in the river by using the kayak, cataract, boat, yacht or other means of water transport of similar nature floating in the river.
(c) “License” means the letter of permission to be provided for rafting business pursuant to Rule 5.
(d) “Ministry” means Government of Nepal, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
(e) “Rafting Entrepreneur” means the company or firm established pursuant to prevailing law for conducting rafting
business.
(f) “Rafting Team” means the rafting team comprising one or more than one members.
(g) “River Guide” means the person holding/getting the license pursuant to Rule 12 for helping the rafting team in rafting.
(h) “Permit” means the permission letter given to work as a river guide pursuant to Rule 12.

Chapter – 2

Provisions Related to Licensing

3. Rafting Business has been Restricted without License : Nobody
has been allowed to conduct rafting business without getting license.
4. Application to be submitted for Licensing : The rafting entrepreneur fulfilling the terms & conditions pursuant to Rule 6 desiring to conduct the rafting business shall submit an application
for license to the Ministry in the format prescribed by Schedule – 1
5. License to be granted :

(1) On the inquiry of the application
received pursuant to Rule 4 if found that the following terms &
conditions has been fulfilled by the rafting entrepreneur, the Ministry taking five thousand rupees fee from the rafting entrepreneur shall grant a license for conducting a rafting business
in the format prescribed in Schedule-2 : –
(a) The rafting entrepreneur have at least two means of rafting,
(b) Possessing (Having) the safety equipment’s & goods as equivalent the quality prescribed by the Ministry, in conducting the rafting business,
(c) Fulfilling the other requirements prescribed time to time by the Ministry.
(2) The Ministry shall form a five member committee also comprising the representatives of the concerned field, to submit a report in the Ministry by making an inquiry on whether the quality of the safety equipment and goods mentioned in clause (b) of Sub rule(1)
has been as prescribed by the Ministry or not.
(3) The rafting agencies that have been registered and working (conducting business) before the commencement of these rules, shall already take the license according to these rules within
one year of the commencement of these rules.
(4)The rafting agencies unable to take the license pursuant to Sub-rule (3) shall take the license within the one year of commencement of this rule.
6. Provision related to the registration and bank guarantee of the
company or firm: Rafting entrepreneur shall have to fulfill the
following terms before taking the license:
(a) In case of a company, a company having at least Two Hundred Thousand Rupees of paid up capital and in case of a firm, a firm having at least Two Hundred Thousand
Rupees of assets, shall be registered. Added by First Amendment
(b) shall submit the bank guarantee equivalent to the Fifty Thousand Rupees in the name of the Ministry.
7. Duration and Renewal of the license:

(1) The duration of the license granted pursuant to Rule 5 shall be for five years.
(2) The rafting entrepreneur intending to renew the license shall renew the license by paying the five thousand rupees, three months prior to the end of the duration of the license to the
Ministry.
(3) After completing the duration pursuant to Sub-rule (2), the license holding rafting entrepreneur if comes to renew the license, for the first two months, after the date of expiration of the duration of the license then by taking fifty percent of the extra renew fee and for the following (successive) one month, by taking cent percent extra renew fee, the Ministry shall renew the license.
(4) If a rafting entrepreneur has not renewed the license within the period prescribed pursuant to Sub-rule (3), such license shall be ipso-fact void.
8. The terms & conditions to be followed by the license holding
rafting entrepreneur :

The license holding rafting entrepreneur
shall fulfill the following terms & conditions:
(a) To register the name and address of the person going for the rafting in the Ministry or the body specified by the Ministry before taking the rafters for rafting.
(b) No rafting has to be conducted for the foreign tourists except in the rivers opened for rafting.
(c) To follow the code of conduct prescribed by the Ministry in operating the rafting business.
(d) To obey the other conditions that has to be follow by a rafting entrepreneur pursuant to the Act or Rules.
9. License may be cancelled : (1) If a rafting entrepreneur makes
(conducts) rafting contrary to these rules the Ministry may cancel his/her license.
(2) Prior to the cancellation of license pursuant to Subrule(1), the Ministry shall provide the reasonable chance to the rafting entrepreneur to produce his/her clarification.
(3) The rafting entrepreneur whose license has been cancelled pursuant to Sub-rule(1), shall not be allowed to operate the business related to the rafting for two years from the date of such cancellation of the license and new license shall not be granted to him/her.
(4) Only because of the cancellation of the license pursuant to Sub-rule(1), such entrepreneur shall not be free of liabilities of these rules.
10. Provisions related to safety : (1) Rafting entrepreneurs shall provide the safety goods like safety jacket, life jacket, helmet etc.
to the tourists and Nepali workers involving in the rafting.
(2) If any person going for rafting has been injured or died because of not providing of the safety goods pursuant to Subrule(1), the concerned rafting entrepreneur shall pay the following compensation to such person :
(a) If injured, depending on the nature of the injury up-to Two Hundred Thousand Rupees.
(b) If died, up to Five Hundred Thousand Rupees.
(3) If an accident has occurred during the course of rafting, the primary search & rescue operation of such accident and management of the death body in case of death of Rafting entrepreneur shall be made by the rafting entrepreneur.

Chapter – 3

Provisions Related to River Guide
11. Application to be submitted for permit : A person desiring to
work as river guide shall submit an application to the Ministry in
the format prescribed in Schedule – 3.
12. Permit to be granted : On the inquiry of the application received
pursuant to Rule 11, if the person applied for permit found
qualified to grant the permit then the Ministry shall grant the
permit by taking the five hundred rupees fee from such person, for
river guide in the format prescribed in Schedule – 4.
13. Disqualification : The following person shall not be qualified to
get the permit for river guide :
(a) Proved guilty from the court in criminal offences of
moral degradation.
(b) Suffered by any mental or communicable diseases.
(c) Not taking training of river guide from an agency recognized by the Government of Nepal.
(d) Not completing the three years probation period after cancellation of the river guide permit.
14. Recognition of Foreign Training : (1) The Government of Nepal
shall form a maximum three member committee also representing
the agencies providing the training for river guide & recognized by
the government of Nepal or getting license or permission pursuant
to prevailing law for the purpose of recommendation related to the
recognition of river guide training received abroad.
(2) The committee pursuant to Sub-rule (1) shall submit a
recommendation on whether such training may be recognized or
not to the Ministry by making required inquiry and if the
committee makes recommendation stating that the recognition may
be given then the Ministry shall give the recognition to such river
guide training by determining the equivalence of it.
(3) The matters to be considered by the committee pursuant
to Sub-rule (1), while making recommendation pursuant to Subrule(2)
shall be specified by the Ministry time to time and
published for the notice of general public.
15. Duration of Permit & Renewal : (1) The duration of the permit
shall be for five years.
(2) The person holding the permit, if desires to renew the
permit shall renew the permit by paying the two hundred rupees in
the Ministry three months prior to the expiry of the permit.
(3) After completing the duration pursuant to Sub-rule (2)
the person holding the permit if comes to renew the permit from
the expiry date of the permit then by taking for the first two months
the twenty five percent of the extra renewal fee, for the six months
fifty percent extra renewal fee for nine months seventy five percent
extra renewal fee & for one year cent percent extra renewal fee, the
Ministry shall renew the permit.
(4) If the permit has not been renewed within the period
pursuant to Sub-rule (3), such permit shall be ipso-facto void.
16. The restricted activities for river guide : A river guide shall not
do the following activities :
(a) To purchase any type of goods from the tourist to whom he/she has made rafting or to ask or take for cash or any other goods with the persons related to such activities.
(b) To sell the equipments provided by rafting entrepreneurs,
(c) To perform the activities against the guidance of the
rafting entrepreneurs,
(d) To exhibit the bad manners in any way,
(e) To involve others as a river guide by handing over his/her own permit.
(f) To act contrary to the code of conduct that has to be
obeyed by river guide and issued by the Ministry.
17. Functions, duties and rights of river guide: The functions,
duties and rights of a river guide shall be as follows.
(a) To conduct rafting to the rafters in the rivers allowed
for rafting,
(b) To conduct rafting to the rafting team only in the rivers which are open for rafting by the Government of Nepal,
(c) To perform the duty by keeping disciplined and respectable relation with the rafting team,
(d) To prevent the misuse of the goods provided by rafting entrepreneurs for rafting,
(e) To help the rafting team for rafting in safe and simple (easy) way,
(f) To rescue the rafting team in emergency and to protect
the life & property of the rafters,
(g) To manage or to be managed the wastes produced by the use of goods during the rafting according to these rules,
(h) To work according to the guidance given by the Ministry and concerned rafting entrepreneurs,
(i) To perform or to be performed any reasonable activities required to protect the life & property of the
rafters in case of any natural calamities or emergency
during the rafting.
18. Permit may be cancelled: (1) The Ministry may cancel the
permit received by a river guide in the following situation
(condition) :
(a) If the person holding permit has been disqualified pursuant to Rule 13.
(b) If the person holding permit has involved in the activities mentioned in Rule 16.
(2) Prior to the cancellation of the permit pursuant to Subrule
(1), the Ministry shall provide the chance to produce his/her clarification by providing at least 15 days period.
19. To be involved in work after making contract : The license
holding rafting entrepreneurs while involving any person in rafting
shall make a contract in the format prescribed in Schedule-5.
20. The Privileges to be provided to the river guide and workers:
The license holding rafting entrepreneurs shall provide the
privileges at least pursuant to Schedule-6, to the river guides and
workers joining the rafting team in addition to their monthly
remuneration during the rafting period.
21. Provisions related to personal accident, insurance and
compensation: (1) The license holding rafting entrepreneur shall
make the personal accident insurance of at least two hundred
thousand rupees for the rafting period to the river guide or workers
joining the rafting team prior to the rafting from the Insurance
Company which has the license allowing to operate the insurance
business in Nepal.
(2) If the person having insurance pursuant to Sub-rule (1)
has been injured or dead by accident then the liability of providing
the amount to be provided by the insurance company to such
person or any other person desired by him/her if exists or if such
person does not exist then to the nearest successor of him/her shall
be on the concerned rafting entrepreneur.
(3) If the person to be made insurance pursuant to Sub-rule
(1) has been involved in rafting without making the insurance and
such person has been injured or dead by accident, on such
situation the rafting entrepreneur shall provide the compensation
amount equivalent to the insurance amount pursuant to Subrule(1)
to the concerned person or in case of his death to the
person desired by him/her and in absent of such person to the
nearest successor.
(4) The Ministry may fine upto five thousand rupees if the
river guide or worker has been employed without making
insurance.
(5) If the worker joining the rafting team has simple injuries
during rafting then the rafting entrepreneur shall arrange required
treatment for such person in his/her own cost.
22. The Amount to be paid (provided) : (1) If an application given
to the Ministry by any river guide or worker to pay back the due
remuneration of his/her work from the rafting entrepreneur has
found true on the inquiry made on such application, then the
Ministry may pay the amount to the applicant from the bank
guarantee given by the rafting entrepreneur in the name of the
Ministry.
(2) The amount paid pursuant to Sub-rule (1) shall be
reimbursed as a bank guarantee by the rafting entrepreneur within
thirty five days.
(3) If the bank guarantee given by a rafting entrepreneur has
not been sufficient to pay the amount pursuant to the Sub-rule (1),
then the Ministry may give an order to submit such amount to the
concerned rafting entrepreneur & if such an order has been made
then it shall be the duty of the concerned rafting entrepreneur to
submit such amount.
(4) The license of the entrepreneur who has not submitted
the Bank guarantee or amount pursuant to Sub-rule (2) or (3) may
be cancelled by the Ministry.