Government yet to fix GSM mobile licence renewal fee
KATHMANDU:
Even as GSM mobile licence of Nepal Telecom (NT) was renewed nearly a year ago, the government seems to be in no hurry to decide the licence renewal fee it is supposed to collect from the state-owned company.
As a result of the delay in fixing the licence renewal fee, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is losing its revenue on one hand, while the company is in confusion and reluctant to devise any long-term plans, on the other. Although an eight-member committee under Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) Sunil Bahadur Malla has been assigned the task to recommend the fee, it is yet to complete its study regarding the matter.
Existing legal provision requires NT to pay Rs 20 billion in renewal fee and the sum was supposed to be paid before its licence was renewed last year. Stating that size of fee was too high, government had decided to review the charge and the previous Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature-Parliament had also issued instructions to make needful changes based on international practice.
A high-level official at NT said that it will be better if the government comes up with a decision regarding the new renewal fee provision at the earliest. “Delay in taking decision on such a crucial issue affects our long-term planning, especially when we are working to rope in a strategic partner,” the official added.
Due to the delay in determining the fee, MoIC last year had directed NTA to renew the permit without charging the set fee and had said that the rate would be fixed after studying the practice in the international market. NT’s licence was renewed on May 11 last year, which allows the company to operate mobile service till May 2019. Last year’s renewal is the second renewal of NT’s mobile licence.
Given the existing rules, NT will be required to pay another Rs 20 billion and apply for licence renewal for the third time in 2019 to be eligible to operate service till 2024. Both NT and Ncell currently are paying the fee for the first renewal, which amounts to Rs 20 billion in installments of Rs 2.5 billion every year. Ncell will be required to make its second renewal in 2019 and the decision taken regarding NT’s renewal fee will also be applicable for Ncell.
As part of the study to decide the renewal fee, the committee, which was earlier led by Dhruba Prasad Sharma (currently finance secretary) had also visited India last year. However, it did not come up with any concrete solution. NTA officials said that the committee members are planning to visit other countries like Bangladesh and Malaysia for ‘further’ study.
“As mandated by the government, the committee is yet to complete its study of international practices,” said Achyuta Nanda Mishra, assistant spokesperson for NT. He said the committee, which is currently led by Malla, comprises three other senior officials of MoIC, three from NTA and a joint secretary from the Ministry of Law and Justice. However, it is not clear, whether the study tour would be funded by NTA or MoIC.
Last year, NT spent Rs three million for the study and this year it has not allocated any budget for the same. An official at MoIC said as NT’s licence has been renewed for five years, fixing of new fee has received less priority from both MoIC and NTA.
Source: THT
