A Nepalese government minister on Wednesday admitted slapping a senior civil servant in the face to teach him a lesson after he sent an old car to pick her up during an official visit.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Karima Begam said she grabbed the local government worker by the collar and hit him repeatedly across the face after he failed to send the car she had requested.

"I beat the CDO (chief district officer) because he ignored my orders by sending an old vehicle," Begam told AFP.

"When I asked him about the vehicle, he tried to argue with me and even pointed fingers at me. I slapped him four times in order to make him more aware of his duties and responsibilities," she said.

"How could a government employee humiliate the minister?"

Begam had flown to a provincial airport in the south of the country to attend a meeting of women lawmakers when the incident occurred on Tuesday.

She was apparently angered by the fact that the functionary, Parsa Durga Prasad Bhandari, had not sent his best car to pick her up, instead dispatching an older model.

"The minister had asked for a Scorpio jeep which was not available at that time. I had sent a Mitsubishi jeep which was recently repaired and was in good condition but the minister did not like it," Bhandari told AFP.

"She slapped me at least four times and broke my spectacles before I could speak a word," he said. "Her move took me by surprise but I didn't retaliate or say anything for she was the minister."

"If I am guilty I am ready to face punishment," said Bhandari.

A spokesperson for the Nepalese prime minister told AFP that Begam's behaviour was unacceptable, but declined to comment on whether she would be fired.

Many of Nepal's newspapers carried front-page pictures of a tearful-looking Bhandari.