Govt told to block Ncell's capital increment plan until CGT is paid

The Finance Committee of the parliament has directed the government to block Ncell's capital increment plan and other business proposals until the telecom operator pays capital gains tax (CGT) to the government. Speaking at the committee's meeting on Friday, Finance Committee Chairperson Prakash Jwala said that since Ncell is registered in Nepal, has made investment here, and has been making profits from Nepal, it is obliged to pay CGT in Nepal. TeliaSonera, the parent company of Reynolds Holdings which owns majority stake in Ncell, sold all its shares in Reynolds to Malaysian company Axiata for US$ 1.03 billion in April. Though the transaction has been completed, Nepal has yet to receive CGT from the transaction. Similarly, the committee has also directed the government to launch investigation and take action against all government officials, who have been reluctant to make Ncell pay tax, within 15 days. It has also told the government to study whether or not Ncell has paid all taxes in its previous ownership transfer. Speaking at the meeting, former chief secretary Leela Mani Poudyal said that Ncell has not paid any CGT to the government in its earlier ownership transfer“ "Massive irregularities might have been committed during that time. The government should probe the irregularities and take needful actio”," he added. The Finance Committee had organized the meeting to seek clarification from government officials on why Ncell had not paid CGT. In the meeting, the committee sought clarification from Finance Secretary Rajan Khanal, Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) Dinesh Thapaliya, Director General of Inland Revenue Department Chudamani Sharma, and Executive Director of Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) Digambhar Jha, among others. Source: Republica