Finance Ministry officials question DRI effectiveness

KATHMANDU, JAN 18: 

Officials at the Finance Ministry have questioned the performance of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) after the department, according to them, failed to conclude some big cases and intervene in new areas of revenue leakage.

Overall revenue collection by DRI has significantly dropped in current fiscal year, said an official at the Finance Ministry, adding that DRI has also failed to identify new areas of revenue fraud.

Entrepreneurs and firms have succeeded in putting the department under pressure, he said, adding that DRI has been working with a low morale.

The department’s efficiency has been in question after the DRI, which enjoys the authority to invite and mobilise officials from any organisation, failed to take any tangible action against businessmen and traders of Chitwan, he claimed, adding that the private sector openly told the department to raid firms and outlets only after consulting traders and the private sector but the department could do nothing. 

He further said that the department has been unable to conclude any cases effectively. 

However, deputy director general at DRI Damodar Regmi refuted the charge. The government has achieved remarkable growth in customs duty which has been possible due to DRI’s effort, he said. “Frequent raids by flying squads deployed by the department have discouraged importers from importing under-invoiced goods and other smuggled goods.”

The official at the ministry, however, said that the mobilisation of customs duty has increased not due to the raids conducted by DRI, but due to the high value of the US dollar against the rupee and increment in imports this year. 

Regmi said that investigations undertaken by the department are time consuming. A case consumes a certain amount of time based on its nature and severity, he said, adding that the delay in investigation should not be dubbed as inefficiency of the department. 

DRI collected a total of Rs 174.54 million revenue during five months (mid-December) of the current fiscal year. It collected Rs 60.15 million revenue from the investigation of customs related fraud cases, according to him. “The department collected Rs 26.16 million, Rs 2.74 million, Rs 5.20 million, Rs 9.35 million and Rs 27.46 million revenue including fines from investigation of VAT, excise, income tax, foreign currency misappropriation and other cases, respectively.”

Source: THT