Contribute relief materials as per our need, govt tells donors

KATHMANDU, May 1: Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat on Friday said the government has decided to accept only those relief materials that can be useful to the affected people.

Speaking at a press meet organized the by Ministry of Home Affairs, Minister Mahat requested donors to either contribute relief materials as per the need of the country or provide support in cash. He also assured that the government will maintain high degree of transparency while utilizing money collected in Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund.Realizing the need for tarpaulin to provide shelter for people who lost their homes in the earthquake, the government has decided to waive off customs duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on import of such materials. The government have been levying 48 percent duty on such materials.

The government has requested donors to bring tarpaulin of larger size that can accommodate up to 50 to 60 people.

Similarly, officials of Department of Customs (DoC) made it clear that they have not levied any customs duty on relief materials. "We just want to make sure that goods imported in the name of relief are distributed only to earthquake victims," Sishir Dhungana, director general of DoC, said, adding that they wanted to keep track of such imported materials and make sure that they are duly distributed to the affected people.

According to DoC, relief organizations will have to name the villages and districts where they want to distribute the relief materials while releasing them from customs offices. They also have to coordinate with chief district officers of the concerned districts who are also the chiefs of concerned District Disaster Relief Committees.

Posting a message on his Facebook account, Member of National Planning Commission (NPC) Swarnim Wagle said that no organized relief materials has been taxed as Nepal has signed Model Agreement on Relief Consignments with the United Nations in 2007. "The government wants to ensure that the implicit state subsidy is targeted toward genuine relief. Do not underestimate the scale of cheating that goes on when there is no monitoring or voluntary code of honor in place," Wagle's Facebook post reads.

Pashupati Murarka, acting president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said they have not faced any problems in bringing the relief materials so far.

FNCCI has set up its own relief distribution operation center at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu. It has been dispatching relief materials from the center to district chambers for distributing relief to the affected families.

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