FIRST SIX MONTHs Revenue: Govt reduces target by Rs 4b
KATHMANDU, JAN 10 -
The government has reduced the revenue collection target by Rs 4 billion for the first half of the current fiscal year as collection so far failed to meet expectations.
The government revised the target at Rs 109 billion at the half-year end from the target of Rs 112.93 billion.
Revenue collection has missed the target as of the first five months of the current fiscal year. Against the target of Rs 84.76 billion as of the five months, collection stood at Rs 77.69 billion. The low collection of non-tax revenues such as royalty and fees led to the collection missing the target. The non-tax collection stood at a mere 53 percent of the target amount.
Despite surpassing the target in the value added tax and customs duty, low collection of income tax and excise duty also hit the overall revenue collection target. “The government aims to collect as much non-tax revenue as possible in January and achieve the revised target of Rs 109 billion,” said a Finance Ministry official. “We have to increase the revenue collection by 20 percent of the amount collected in the first six months last fiscal year.”
The ministry has been urging various public enterprises to pay their outstanding royalties and dividends. Nepal Telecom and Nepal Rastra Bank have already committed to provide dividends of Rs 2 billion each, according to the ministry official. Nepal Electricity Authority has also committed to provide Rs 500 million, while the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has already paid Rs 90 million. Udayapur Cement and Hetauda Cement have also vowed to pay Rs 20 million and Rs 10 million respectively, according to the MoF.
“Nepal Telecom and Ncell will also provide Rs 1 billion and Rs 570 million respectively in royalty,” said the MoF official. “Usually, a majority of public enterprises and private firms that have to pay royalties pay their liabilities to the government during the period of mid-January; we are hopeful that that revised target will be met.”
The ministry will try to collect revenue at the last hour of the end of the six months to meet the target. As January 14, the last day of the sixth month period is Saturday, the ministry has asked Nepal Rastra Bank and other commercial banks that are engaged in transactions of government revenues to keep their offices open on that day.
Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Bank, Everest and Nepal Bangladesh Bank are involved in the government’s revenue transactions. “We have already directed our revenues offices across the country to keep the offices open from 10 am to 4 pm to ease revenue collection.” After a long gap, the government had failed to meet the revenue collection target last fiscal year.
Source: Kantipur
