KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said that the finance ministry officials themselves are not interested in receiving Permanent Account Number (PAN). He said if the government officials do not show faith then one can not expect the general public to register in the PAN.

Celebrating the current fiscal year as a ‘Tax Involvement Year,’ finance ministry has distributed PAN to everyone including the President. Minister Pandey said that officials are also not fully aware about PAN, no wonder that public are afraid of it. “Thus, officials need to be informed,” he added.

In the launching of ‘Income Tax Directive 2010’ prepared by Internal Revenue Department, Pandey said that there is increasing trend of neglecting responsibilities. “Finance Ministry has received complaints about auditors who are not doing a fair work, and if the allegations are proven, we will take action against such individuals.” He advised that revenue administration need to be capable of curbing any fraudulent actions being committed.

This directive has been published after eight years of implementation

of Income Tax Act. On the occasion, Poverty Alleviation Fund’s (PAF)

vice- chairman Bidyadhar Mallik said that the Income Tax Act was an

important step for tax administration. Mallik was Internal Revenue Department’s Director at the time of the Act’s implementation.

Finance secretary Rameswor Khanal said that tax administration need to be more transparent and

the official’s short comings also should be improved and the tax

payers should also feel that tax administration is not complicated.

During the programme, revenue secretary Krishna Hari Baskota shared that improvement is easier said than done because he himself had bitter experiences when he initiated such improvements.