April 5: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax.  A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. 

"Rather than increasing the tax rate, the scope of tax should be increased. Arrangement of issuing PAN card should be made along with the citizenship certificate for this purpose," the NCC said. 

Malla said the illegal trade taking place at the bordering areas should also be discouraged and brought under the purview of tax while the provision of seeking and providing invoice should be made mandatory. 

The NCC president also called to fix interest rate at single digit at the earliest to stimulate the economy. He suggested preparing and implementing a time-bound action plan for the capital expenditure for managing the liquidity crunch. 

NCC urged the government to encourage the investment of the remittance money in productive sectors. During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat said the government has taken the latest economic situation seriously and coordination is being made for the successful implementation of the budget and monetary policy. 

Minister Mahat said he is in consultation with the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor and the secretaries of the bodies concerned for reinvigorating the economy and with the customs officials regarding the issue of unmet revenue collection target. The Finance Minister expressed hope that the economy will come  on track from the next fiscal year. ----RSS