Cabinet okays ToR for sick firms
KATHMANDU, JAN 10:
The committee under the Industrial Promotion Division is all set to further classify industries that have been waiting for the final recommendation as a sick industry.
Along with the Cabinet’s approval of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the sick industries, the committee formed to recommend the names of sick industries is preparing for the final classification of the industries.
“The Cabinet has approved the Terms of Reference prepared by the technical committee, therefore we can now easily classify the sick industries and recommend the names to the Cabinet for further approval,” said under secretary at Industrial Promotion Division Surya Kant Jha.
The technical committee had already recommended the names of three industries but the Industrial Act did not mention the category under which the sick industries could be classified. “We have the names of three sick industries but the Act did not specify whether to recommend the sick industries with interest repaid, recommendation for loan, or tax waiver category,” he said.
According to Jha, now with the approval of the ToR, the technical committee will be able to recommend the names of the industries along with their classification and the facility to be provided. The ToR has classified the industries as complete sick industries, possible sick industries, and vulnerable sick industries.
Complete sick industries are those that cannot be revived and they can completely shutdown their businesses after paying the principal amount.
Similarly, possible sick industries are those which have the possibility of revival, and for those industries, the central bank will provide a facility of a soft loan for three to five years depending on the nature of the industry. Meanwhile, for vulnerable sick industries, NRB will allow a short-term facility of one year, which is a waiver of the interest on the loan taken.
Sick Industry Rehabilitation Forum at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry states there are around 400 sick companies. Till date, there are 37 applications at Industrial Promotion Division for sick industry facility and the committee under the division has already approved Birat Leather, Birat Shoe and Nepal Boards as sick industries.
Source: THT
