The government tabled the bill to adjust the customs duty on the import of gold and silver on par with India to curb possible smuggling of the precious metals to India. Earlier, four months ago, the government had brought an ordinance to increase customs duty on gold imports to curb gold smuggling to India.[break]
Maoists objected to the bill that has been tabled in parliament saying it doesn´t mention the rate of increment on customs duty for gold imports. "Today´s [Monday] meeting was put off after the government side agreed to rectify the bill as demanded by Maoists," Nepali Congress chief whip Laxman Prasad Ghimire told Republica. A cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning will fix the increment rate before the new bill is registered at the parliament secretariat later on the same day.
Terming the bill a blank check, Maoist leaders have been refusing to endorse it from the House. Lawyers and experts have suggested to the government to enforce a new rate in the market by issuing a notice as per Current Tax Mobilization Act-2012 BS for the time being. Government can enforce a new rate on specific goods as per the rate mentioned in the bill, which is under consideration in parliament. Such notice becomes null and void once the House endorses the bill.
Maoist and ruling party leaders reached an agreement to this effect at a meeting held at the presence of Speaker Subas Nembang at Singha Durbar on Sunday. Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, CPN-UML chief whip Bhim Acharya, and Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal, among other, were present at the meeting.
Pandey earlier tabled the bill at a parliament meeting on September 7 as the ordinance expired on September 3.
Special hour to discuss audiotape
The major parties have also agreed to deliberate on the controversial audiotape scandal allegedly involving Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and a Chinese official. In the audiotape published and broadcast by various communications media someone thought to be Mahara requests a Chinese man Rs 500 million to buy 50 votes in parliament to elect Pushpa Kamal Dahal as prime minister.
"We have agreed to hold deliberations on the controversial audiotape scandal for two-hour long Special Hour at parliament on Tuesday," Ghimire said.
UCPN (Maoist) has said the tape could be genuine but asserted that tapping phone lines of political leaders is an attack on national security and violation of individual´s right to secrecy.
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