KATHMANDU, Dec 13: The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has started investigation against Bottlers Nepal Limited, a multinational company that produces and sells Coca Cola in Nepal, on the suspicion of evading tax.

According to a DRI official, the tax investigation authority a few days ago raided the head office of Bottlers Nepal and confiscated official documents, computers and record files. Bottlers Nepal has been accused of evading capital gains tax while transferring the promoters shares of foreign stakeholder six years ago.

According to a source, Coca Cola Southwest Asia Holdings Limited, one of the main investors of Bottlers Nepal, had sold a large amount of its stakes in the Nepal-based company to Bottling Investments Group. But the company has failed to notify officially the government authority concerned in Nepal, just to evade tax.

Bottlers Nepal has an issued capital of Rs 430 million and a paid-up capital of Rs 194.80 million. Three-fourth of the company’s capital is held by the foreign companies while the rest of the shares is in the name of domestic investors that include 22 percent from the Khetan Group.

This is not the first time that the multinational companies operating in Nepal have fallen into tax controversies. Earlier, the government grilled Ncell for evading capital gains tax. In December 2019, the DRI had filed a case against Varun Beverages Nepal Pvt Ltd on the charge of evading 649.60 million in taxes through the use of fake value added tax invoices.

 
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