KATHMANDU, JUNE 2

The business community has condemned the government for directing businesses to clear their tax dues by June 7.

Pointing out that the country is still under lockdown and businesses have not been able to resume their operation so far, industrialists and businessmen today claimed that they were not in a position to pay taxes within the stipulated timeframe.

“As industrialists have been staying at home for the past 70 days without being able to operate their businesses, how is it possible for them to clear their tax dues?” questioned Shekhar Golchha, senior vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

He said the government’s call to clear tax dues during the lockdown while other countries had been introducing multiple relief packages for crisis-hit businesses was unfortunate.

He added that the only way the businesses could clear their taxes was by taking bank loan and that too was not possible in the present context.

Golchha urged the government to immediately review its decision.

Though the government is facing pressure to generate revenue while the fiscal year is coming to an end, compelling businesses to clear taxes in less than a week when they too are facing crisis is not justifiable, stated Satish Kumar More, president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries.

“We will officially request the Ministry of Finance to review its direction immediately,” he said.

The Nepal Foreign Trade Association has also condemned the government’s call to clear tax dues by June 7.

Issuing a press statement today, NFTA stated that clearing taxes at such a short notice was not possible as traders had not been able to collect cash from the market. Moreover, economic activities had been at a standstill for almost three months, he added.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 3, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.