Kathmandu, December 6

The government has been able to collect 29.69 per cent of the total annual revenue collection target of Rs 565.9 billion in the first quadrimester of this fiscal 2016-17. Exceeding the collection target of the first quadrimester by Rs 11.43 billion, the government’s revenue collection stood at Rs 168.03 billion in the review period.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has said that there has been remarkable progress in total collection despite some major revenue headings like income tax, non-tax and vehicle tax missing the target in the first four months. However, collection under customs tariff, excise, value added tax (VAT), registration fees and others heading exceeded the target.

“Revenue collection is satisfactory as compared to the dismal progress in government spending,” said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, deputy prime minister and finance minister, during the review of revenue collection in the first quadrimester. He instructed the department heads under MoF to inspect the possible revenue leakages and focus on expanding the tax net.

In the review period, the government was able to collect Rs 37.1 billion against the target of Rs 31.42 billion from customs tariff as imports surged heavily in the first four months. The country has imported goods worth Rs 301.78 billion, which is a rise of around 88 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Nepal’s import based revenue surpassed the target as imports skyrocketed in the review period. Around 44 per cent of the country’s total revenue was collected at the customs point as customs tariff, excise, VAT and other taxes.

Excise and VAT collection also exceeded the target in the first quadrimester, according to MoF. Collection under VAT and excise stood at Rs 50.9 billion and Rs 29.58 billion against the target of Rs 50 billion and Rs 23.83 billion, respectively.

Income tax was the fourth largest contributor as it missed the target. Income tax collection stood at Rs 22.79 billion against target of Rs 24.34 billion.

Registration fees exceeded the target by 73.5 per cent to stand at Rs 5.85 billion in the review period. The government had expected to collect Rs 3.37 billion under registration fees heading in the first four months. Increase in registration fees means transaction of land and houses increased in the review period.

Likewise, vehicle tax, health and education service tax slightly missed the target in the review period to stand at Rs 3.11 billion, Rs 0.26 billion and Rs 0.20 billion, respectively. Under the non-tax heading, Rs 14.84 billion was collected against the target of Rs 16.59 billion.