Four years have elapsed since the CPA but Maoist leaders commanders at the cantonments continue to ride vehicles the Maoist party smuggled from India during the "People´s War" or seized while being smuggled by others. [break]
Worse, none of the Maoist leaders, including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, pays vehicle tax that all vehicle-owning ordinary Nepalis pay. There are 94 such vehicles.
According to Maoist sources, besides the prime minister, Finance Minister Barshaman Pun and senior party members Mohan Baidya, Ram Bahadur Thapa, CP Gajurel, Dinanath Sharma, Janardan Sharma, Nanda Kishor Pun, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Matrika Yadav, Hisila Yami, Gopal Kirati, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Haribol Gajurel, Agni Sapkota, Pampha Bhusal, Posta Bahadur Bogati, Netra Bikram Chanda and Lekh Raj Bhatta own and ride tax-free vehicles.
Of the 94 vehicles, officials at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) said 37 are being used by top Maoist leaders while the remaining 57 are at different Maoist cantonments.
The vehicles include brands such as Tata, Scorpio, Bolero, Tevera, Tata Safari, Nissan, Maruti, Santro, Tata Indica, Tata Sumo, Hyundai Santro and Mahindra.
As per existing law, Nepalis owing vehicles pay an annual vehicle registration tax of Rs 16,500 if their vehicle displacement is up to 1,000 CC, Rs 18,000 if it is 1,001-1,500 CC, Rs 20,000 if it is 1,501-2,000 CC, Rs 27,500 if it is 2,001-2,900 CC and Rs 44,000 if it is 2,901 CC and above.
When the Maoists joined mainstream politics in 2007, the cabinet led by the late Girija Prasad Koirala decided that they could use those vehicles for a maximum of one year and the cabinet also exempted tax for a year. As per the cabinet decision, those vehicles were also provided temporary number plates in combination of green and white on a yellow background.
“The decision to provide temporary number plates was itself a mockery of the law as existing rules don´t have any such provision,” said an official at the Ministry of Finance.
Later, during the tenure of Maoist Chairman Puspha Kamal Dahal as prime minister, the cabinet decided that the Maoists would use the vehicles until the conclusion of the peace process.
Some Maoist leaders have further abused this extension and transferred the temporary number plates to expensive brands like Mitsubishi Pajero.
“The irony is that the Maoist leaders have the money to switch to expensive brands, but can´t pay vehicle tax,” commented the officer.
When this issue was raised with Prime Minister Bhattarai during his recent meeting with editors of national dailies, he said, “I have already issued instructions to find out how many of the vehicles are being used by Maoist leaders and how many of them are in the cantonments; the issue will be addressed soon”.
The editors met the prime minister before Dashain and there has been no action on this matter so far.
Currently, members of the general public pay 80 percent customs duty, 60 percent excise duty and 13 percent VAT while buying a new vehicle. They also pay a road construction and maintenance fee of 5 percent of the vehicle´s price. However, the Maoists have not just escaped those duties and taxes but are not even paying the regular annual registration fee.
“The state has lost million of rupees in revenue, far more than the price of the Mustang Max the prime minister rides, as no one has paid any tax on those vehicles as of now,” said a source at MoLTM.
Related story
Tax reform committee proposes increasing Social Security Tax to...
