He even stated that the government will not switch to the new system unless the businessmen corrected the practice of under-invoicing, which is rampant.
"Also we need to address constraints related to tax structure and capability of revenue administration before introducing multiple VAT regime," said Pandey. [break]
Minister Pandey said this while addressing a delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) that had met him earlier in the day to request him not to raise tax rates in the new budget.
According to an NCC press release, NCC President Surendra Bir Malakar appealed to the minister to focus on expanding the tax base rather than raising the rates.
He cited scrap tax and syndicate of transporters as major factors behind the present rise in the prices of commodities, and urged the minister to eliminate scrap tax and take strong actions to end transporters syndicate.
NCC officials also urged the government to allow Nepalis to invest abroad, cut excise duty imposed on domestic productions and lift VAT on edible items. Officials of retailers association, on the other hand, appealed to the government to lower tax imposed on retailers to Rs 2,000 per annum from the present 5,000.
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