Kathmandu, May 29

The Nepal Foreign Trade Association (NFTA) has welcomed the budget for fiscal 2016-2017 that was presented by Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel at the Legislature-Parliament on Saturday. In a press statement issued today, the association has said that if the government is able to spend the budget allocated for various purposes then it would surely help in economic development of country. It has thus urged concerned authorities to utilise the amount that has been allocated as capital expenditure.

NFTA has also mentioned that the priority given to the agricultural sector and the revision in the income tax threshold are commendable steps taken by the government. It further commended the government’s move to reduce the customs tariff on electric vehicles. The government had also announced that businesses with annual turnover of Rs 10 million would not be obliged to audit their transactions, which NFTA has said would help small and medium enterprises.

However, the association said that the budget had not addressed the private sector’s demand for a multiple value added tax (VAT) system. It also stated that the budget had kept silent regarding the demand for reduction in customs tariff on certain goods.

NFTA, through the statement, has also expressed its dissatisfaction on the decision to increase the price of petroleum products by Rs five a litre. Though the government has mentioned that the prices of petroleum products would not be raised as of now, NFTA has stated that it would increase the price of essential products in the long run.