SOP for Management of Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) waiver for upto 24 hours.

Standard Operating Procedure for Management of Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) waiver for upto 24 hours for tourists visiting the border towns of Samtse, Phuentsholing, Gelephu and SamdrupJongkhar. 

The Royal Government of Bhutan vide Public Notifications; S-20/2023/385 and S- 20/2023/387 dated March 30, 2023 has approved the waiver of Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) for casual visitors including tourists of all nationalities for visits upto 24 hours in the border towns of Samtse, Phuentsholing, Gelephu and SamdrupJongkhar as long as they do not travel beyond the designated zone of the border towns. The SDF waiver has been approved for a period of one year with effect from 14 April 2023.

In the context of the above decision, the Department of Immigration (DoI), Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Department of Tourism (DoT), Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment adopts this SOP to provide the operation guideline for the management of SDF waiver for casual visitors including tourists of all nationalities for upto 24 hours visiting the border towns of Samtse, Phuentsholing, Gelephu and SamdrupJongkhar.

This SOP shall remain valid till 13 April 2024.

SOP of Management of SDF wavier for unto 24 hours