The government has come up with a number of alternative measures, including intensifying monitoring of possible areas of tax avoidance.
“We are planning to intensify monitoring of risky areas where there might be tax avoidance knowingly or unknowingly,” Rammani Dawadi, deputy director general of Inland Revenue Department (IRD) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said at an interaction on 'Nation Ahead Series' organized by Media Plus on Friday.
He also said that the department was also planning to give more focus on 'follow-up' of the amount that the tax settlement commission has settled.
Tax Settlement Commission has settled 61 percent of the applications filed by different firms and individuals. Through these settlements, the government will be able to recover Rs 9.54 billion in different taxes.
As part of the measures to boost revenue collection, Dawadi also said that the department will also work to recover Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) due amounts. “Whether we will find the revenue or not, we are also planning for the current year audit. This will help to improve tax administration,” he added.
Also speaking at the interaction, Director General of the Department of Customs (DoC), Sishir Kumar Dhungana, said that he was worried by a 'scary' revenue position. He, however, said that there was still hope of replenishing the state treasury through internal revenue as there was still seven more months remaining in the current fiscal year. “We have got some positive signal in some custom points,” said Dhungana. “However, the major trading point in Birgunj is yet to resume. We are ready to operate it 24 hours a day to make the customs office convenient.”
He also said that revenue mobilization will also depend on the consumption pattern and economic activities in the days to come. “We expect that the reconstruction in the aftermath of the earthquake will boost consumption and economic activities. It will help in revenue mobilization,” added Dhungana.
Similarly, Saurabh Jyoti, Chairperson at Tax and Revenue Department of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to broaden the tax instead of increasing tax rates.
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