IRD urges coordination

Kathmandu: Speakers at a programme here today stressed on the need of proper coordination and cooperation among tax office and private sector for effective control of revenue leakage. They also underlined the need of business friendly tax policy to bring all the business activities into tax net. At an interaction jointly organised by Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, president of NCC said that government should not harass entrepreneurs in the name of revenue leakage control. Abanindra Kumar Shrestha, DG at IRD said that the department has changed its working modalities to increase efficiency. — HNS

Ginger export halted

NUWAKOT: Indian plant quarantine, Sunauli, has created a new hurdle in the export of ginger produced in Nepal. Ginger has not been exported to India and third countries for the last one-and-a-half months owing to the obstruction created by the quarantine. The firms and agents exporting and importing ginger are to receive permit letter from India as per the circular signed by general secretary of the Indian foreign trade department recently. — RSS

Garuda sees revenue up

JAKARTA: Garuda Indonesia expects revenues to rise by 13 to 15 per cent this year from an estimated $1.1 billion in 2004 on the back of an improving economy and new routes. “If the economy in 2005 stays good, we can expect revenue growth of between 13 to 15 per cent,” Setiawan said. adding that Garuda plans to increase flight frequencies to several destinations. — AFP

Moves to get tourists back

SEOUL: The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) will convene an emergency meeting by January end to discuss ways to rehabilitate tourism in the tsunami-hit South and South East Asian countries. The meeting will be held in the Thai island of Phuket from January 31 to February 1. — HNS

IIM-B, Infosys join hands

BANGALORE: The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B) has tied up with software major Infosys Technologies Ltd to offer postgraduate programmes in software enterprise management (PGSM) in Chennai from the 2005-06 academic year. The programme will be hosted at the Infosys campus in Chennai for software professionals of IT firms based in the Tamil Nadu capital. — HNS