Passport system: German firm presses for payment, service resumes under five-day deal

German company Muehlbauer, which operates the Department of Passports' biometric system, has pressed Nepal to clear its outstanding payment. The contract for biometric enrollment and booklet printing of Nepali passports had been awarded to two German companies, Muehlbauer and Veridos.

Muehlbauer sent an email to the department on Asoj 9 demanding payment for its services and warning that the service would be disrupted if the dues were not cleared. The company has already completed personal data collection and biometrics for about 170,000 people. Citing its inability to pay staff and suppliers, the company had set a deadline of Asoj 15.

On Thursday, the department's online system suddenly went down, disrupting biometric and other services. A senior department official said there had been an internet problem and that staff from Subisu had arrived to carry out repairs. The official said other services that could be handled offline were running as usual.

According to sources at the German embassy in Nepal, the German government asked the company to resume service after the Government of Nepal assured payment within five working days, following which the service resumed. Sources said the company would be free to decide on its own course of action if the payment did not arrive within that period.

Sources said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested that the service not be halted until after the festival season.