UTL to pay half royalty
KATHMANDU:
United Telecom Ltd (UTL) has agreed to pay half of its royalty dues to Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the regulator.
Appearing before the sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee under Legislature Parliament today, UTL said that it is hopeful that the government of Nepal will initiate the process of negotiation to fix the reasonable royalty.
However, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) said that it would scrap licence, if UTL fails to clear complete royalty dues.
“UTL is left with no options but to pay royalty dues or to get stay order from the court to operate its service,” chairman at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority Bhesh Raj Kanel said, adding that it cannot consider UTL’s plea of royalty waiver since Appellate Committee under the Ministry of Information and Communications on Friday has rejected its appeal to waive outstanding royalty worth Rs 896 million. The authority had at the beginning of the year asked the UTL that it might loose its operating licence, if it didnot clear royalty dues according to its commitment.
But, the UTL moved to the Appellate Committee against the NTA directive, and filed a petition in April.
UTL officials, however, has again demanded to waive the royalty. The government suspended the service of UTL for 63 days during Royal regime in 2005, UTL chief executive officer Arun Gupta, said in the committee meeting. “UTL lost its brand value and incurred loss due to suspension of service at that time,” he said, justifying its demand of royalty waiver. The government had in 2006, waived UTL’s royalty worth around Rs 190 million, when the then king Gyanendra Shah seized the power and restricted services of telecom operators. “The royalty waiver demand from UTL is not reasonable since the government had already provided enough facility to UTL for its losses at that time,” Kanel said.
UTL also charged the regulator for its delay in granting it permission to operate handheld terminal, allocation of spectrum and not helping it in reducing congestion.
Source: THT
United Telecom Ltd (UTL) has agreed to pay half of its royalty dues to Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the regulator.
Appearing before the sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee under Legislature Parliament today, UTL said that it is hopeful that the government of Nepal will initiate the process of negotiation to fix the reasonable royalty.
However, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) said that it would scrap licence, if UTL fails to clear complete royalty dues.
“UTL is left with no options but to pay royalty dues or to get stay order from the court to operate its service,” chairman at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority Bhesh Raj Kanel said, adding that it cannot consider UTL’s plea of royalty waiver since Appellate Committee under the Ministry of Information and Communications on Friday has rejected its appeal to waive outstanding royalty worth Rs 896 million. The authority had at the beginning of the year asked the UTL that it might loose its operating licence, if it didnot clear royalty dues according to its commitment.
But, the UTL moved to the Appellate Committee against the NTA directive, and filed a petition in April.
UTL officials, however, has again demanded to waive the royalty. The government suspended the service of UTL for 63 days during Royal regime in 2005, UTL chief executive officer Arun Gupta, said in the committee meeting. “UTL lost its brand value and incurred loss due to suspension of service at that time,” he said, justifying its demand of royalty waiver. The government had in 2006, waived UTL’s royalty worth around Rs 190 million, when the then king Gyanendra Shah seized the power and restricted services of telecom operators. “The royalty waiver demand from UTL is not reasonable since the government had already provided enough facility to UTL for its losses at that time,” Kanel said.
UTL also charged the regulator for its delay in granting it permission to operate handheld terminal, allocation of spectrum and not helping it in reducing congestion.
Source: THT
