Revenue collection exceeds target
KATHMANDU, JUL 25 -
After initial hiccups, the government managed to better its target, collecting Rs 2.37 billion in revenue last year.
The revenue collection reached Rs 244.14 billion against the target of Rs 241.77 billion, an increase of 22.2 percent compared to the collection in the previous fiscal, according to the Ministry of Finance. The revenue collection in the previous fiscal year 2010-11 had suffered a deficit of Rs 16 billion.
Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota said that attempts made to control leakages and strict monitoring played key role in surpassing the revenue collection target. “We reached to small customs offices such as Rajapur to encourage the customs employees to ensure more collection after poor revenue collection in May due to bandas and strikes in the run up to dissolution of the Constituent Assembly,” said Baskota.
According to the Ministry, the government collected a total of Rs 71.97 billion under value added tax (VAT), which is a deficit of Rs 770 million against target. The government aimed to collect Rs 72.74 billion last fiscal year.
Baskota said inadequate implementation of billing system at the retail sector despite improvement compared to past, caused deficit in VAT collection last year. The VAT is the largest contributor of revenue to the government, occupying 29.7 percent of total revenue collection in the last fiscal.
Despite falling short of the target, the MoF has claimed the collection as impressive. “Action against 518 VAT evaders by using fake VAT bills and increased registration of firms in VAT regime helped to collect good amount under VAT,” the ministry stated in a press release on Tuesday.
Income tax collection, however, exceeded the target with a collection of Rs 52.55 billion. The target set for the last fiscal was Rs 51.06 billion. “The increased number of taxpayers, increased business transactions and increasing effectiveness of tax administration helped in increasing income tax collection,” said Baskota. The income tax is the second largest revenue contributor to the government with its clout standing at 22.7 percent last year.
The collection of customs duty, the third biggest source of revenue to the government, also exceeded target last year. The customs duty collection reached Rs 43.41 billion, which was an 18 percent more than the target of Rs 41.56 billion.
The increased foreign trade, rise of US dollar against Nepali currency, improvement of customs valuation and control measures taken against smugglings in the bordering area among others resulted in good revenue collection, according to the ministry.
The excise duty also exceeded the target slightly last fiscal year with a collection of Rs 30.37 billion against the target of Rs 30.25 billion. The ministry said that measures taken to control revenue leakages and rise of rate of excise duty contributed to good collection of excise duty. The excise duty is imposed on liquor, beer and cigarettes which are harmful to the health. The revenue collection from registration and vehicle tax reached Rs 7.96 billion. Surprisingly, non tax revenue collection such as dividend from the state-owned corporation and royalties among others also surpassed their targets, overcoming very poor collection in the first half of the last fiscal.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
