Nepal - 2.3.3 Major Border Crossing of Bhairahawa / Sunauli

Overview 

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Aerial view of Border crossing at Sunauli, 1. Customs Office 2. Bhairahawa ICD 

 

Sunauli is 95 km north of Gorakhpur (India) and 5 km south of Bhairahawa. The Indian side is "Sunauli" and Nepal side is Belahiya.  

The Border Crossing being official entry point for heavy and light vehicles tends to be busy and congested all year round. Immigration Office at Belahiya is present, to efficiently cater to the 2nd busiest border crossing in Nepal, with 15.19 % share of total import value (ref: Dept of Customs, 2022/23). There are seven sub customs offices under this customs office: (1) Paklihawa, (2) Lumbini (3) Vucchivareva, (4) Amuwa, (5) Thumuwa, (6) Manjharia and (7) Bethry. Among these only Lumbini sub customs office is working. 

Border Crossing Location and Contact 

Name of Border Crossing 

 

Nepal: Belahiya / Bhairahawa 
India: Sunauli / Nautanwa 

Province or District 

Lumbini Province, Rupandehi 

Nearest Town or City with Distance from Border Crossing 

Bhairahawa 

Latitude 

27.47611 

Longitude 

83.47000 

Managing Authority / Agency 

Bhairahawa Customs Office, Immigration Office Belahiya, Armed Police Force 

Contact Person 

Narendra Prasad Chaudhary 

Siddharthanagar Muncipality ward no. 1, Belahiya, Rupandehi 

 

Tel: 071-418003 

Fax: 071-418026 

E-mail: bhairahawa@customs.gov.np 

 

Travel Times 

Nearest International Airport 

Gautam Buddha International Airport 

Distance: 8 km 

Truck Travel Time: 20 minutes 

Car Travel time: 20 minutes 

Nearest Port 

Kolkota 

Distance: 910 km 

Truck: Travel Time Unknown 

Car: More than 24 hrs 

Nearest location with functioning wholesale markets, or with significant manufacturing or production capacity 

Bhairahawa (Nepal) / Sunauli (India) 
Distance: 5 kms 
Truck: 10 minutes 
Car: 10 minutes 

Other Information 

 

Weighbridge /  
Integrated check point (ICP) with India under construction 

 

Hours of Operation 

Mondays 

 10:00 - 17:00 

Tuesdays 

 10:00 - 17:00 

Wednesdays 

 10:00 - 17:00 

Thursdays 

 10:00 - 17:00 

Fridays 

 10:00 - 17:00 

Saturdays 

 10:00 - 12:00 

Sundays 

 10:00 - 12:00 

National Holidays 

 

Generally, 3 days during Dashain (Nepal national festival) and up to another 7 days / year at Government’s discretion. 
Note: Will open 24 / 7 for emergencies  

Seasonal Constraints  

 None. Currently, road expansion work is going on near the customs office, so there might be some disturbance in movement of vehicles. 

 

Daily Capacity 

  • Up to 300 Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) per day in both directions. 

Customs Clearance 

Due to clearance delay from Indian side, trucks queue up to 7 KM, due to this some trucks divert to Krishnanagar and Suthauli customs. If all supporting documents are okay, the clearance procedure can be completed in 2 hours. 

Please see the Government directives regarding waiver of duty when a State of Emergency is declared. Under these circumstances, the DG will designate a specific area for clearance of aid cargo. 

For more information on customs in Nepal, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information.   

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.