KATHMANDU, Dec 27: The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), seeking to take action against Bottlers Nepal on charge of revenue leakage, has forwarded its final investigation report to the Public Prosecutor Office (PPO) on Sunday.  

The tax investigation authority has stepped up for action against the manufacturer of CocaCola in Nepal after failing to receive satisfactory clarification from the officials concerned, according to a DRI official. Giving a deadline of seven days that ended last Thursday through a public notice, the DRI had asked the executives concerned to present themselves at the Department for clarifications, if any.

The revenue investigation body has issued a caution notice against 15 executives of Bottlers Nepal. They include chairperson of the company Shukla Wassan, an Indian citizen from Gurgaon, India. “However, the department did not receive any concrete reply from the high level officials of the company within the given deadline,” said a DRI source.

The DRI in its final report has recommended taking action against Bottlers Nepal on charge of evading capital gain tax. Earlier in August, the PPO had sent back the investigation document to DRI asking it to carry out further investigation over the revenue leakage issue related to the company.

Bottlers Nepal has been accused of evading capital gain tax while transferring the promoters’ shares of foreign stakeholder some six years ago. 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 in an apparent bid to evade tax.

The Office of the Auditor General in its 58th annual report has also mentioned that the government was left to recover Rs 2.50 billion in capital gain tax from the multinational company.

 
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