KATHMANDU, August 19: Ncell Axiata Pvt Ltd has paid more than Rs 4.96 billion to the government for the renewal fee of its mobile service license.
According to the Ncell, it has deposited the installment fee and interest amount in the account of Nepal Telecommunications Authority at Nabil Bank in Tindhara. The amount paid by the private sector telecommunications service provider includes Rs 4.25 billion for the installment amount of its renewal fee.
Similarly, Ncell paid Rs 649.26 million for the 328-day interest between August 23, 2025 and mid-July 2026. Likewise, the telecommunication company settled more than Rs 65.32 million for the 33-day interest from July 17 to August 18 this year.
Revised interest rate corridor system introduced
The government had given Ncell the facility to pay the mobile service license renewal fee of Rs 20 billion in four installments. In August 2024, the Council of Ministers had enforced the provision to charge 10 percent annual interest on the remaining installments.
On May 27, 2024, Ncell had applied for license renewal by paying Rs 4 billion as the first installment. As per the government's decision, an arrangement has been made to pay the remaining amount in installments thereafter.
On August 22, 2025, the company paid Rs 3.29 billion to the government, while it paid another Rs 2 billion by the end of the last Fiscal Year.
Time and again the issues of Ncell license renewal extension and related fees have been dragged into controversies. The state has been alleged for treating the public enterprise Nepal Telecommunications Company (Nepal Telecom) and private company Ncell differently regarding the payment of renewal fees. While Nepal Telecom has been permitted to pay its renewal fee of Rs 2 billion in installments, Ncell has been deprived from such privileges by the government.
With the latest payment, Ncell’s payment process related to its license renewal fee has progressed further. Since its establishment, the private sector telecommunications company has paid nearly Rs 375 billion under taxes and fees under various headings including license fee, renewal fee, royalty, telecommunications service fee and income tax, among others.
The company launched its services on September 1, 2004, as ‘Mero Mobile’ after receiving a license for GSM cellular mobile service.
