Kathmandu, July 7:

A joint meeting of government officials and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) today decided to stop District Development Committees’ contractor selection process for the collection of scrap duty for the fiscal year 2008-09.

The meeting decided to collect scrap duty in coordination with respective District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

“The meeting decided to stop the forced and illegal collection of scrap duty through contractors as it was creating a negative impression among the trade sector and was also affecting the price of goods and imposing extra liability on consumers” a press statement issued by FNCCI says. It also says that scrap duty would be collected as per the system prescribed at the district level unless a suitable alternative system was worked out. The meeting also decided to set up a joint committee of DCCIs and local administration to facilitate the scrap duty collection process and recommend punitive measures, if scrap duty was imposed on goods other than prescribed. It was also decided obstructions put up on highways for collecting scrap duty would be removed.

Finance Secretary (Revenue) Rameshwor Khanal, officiating secretary to the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) Gangadutta Abasthi, joint secretary to the Ministry of Finance Lalmani Joshi, joint secretary to MoLD Somlal Subedi, FNCCI chairman Kush Kumar Joshi and director general Meghnath Neupane attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, FNCCI decided to organise a meeting in Biratnagar soon to work out a suitable system for collecting scrap duty.