July 25: Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that taxes were increased on essential commodities such as potato and onion to promote self-reliance on the production of these food items.

At a programme organized in Bhairahawa, Minister  Mahat explained that taxes were increased on the imports of essential commodities with an objective to reduce reliance on such commodities and thereby increase self-increase.

Bemoaning that there was no adequate agricultural production although Nepal is an agricultural country,  Mahat said that Value Added Tax(VAT) was imposed in the essential commodities to encourage domestic production of agrarian commodities.

"We are about to gaining self-sufficiency in potato and onion production. This might have brought cheer to those producing agriculture products," he said.

When asked about party leader Bal Krishna Khand, who is currently in police custody due to his alleged involvement in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, Mahat clarified that violators of law are never protected by his party.

Mahat clarified that his party will not take action against Khand just on the basis of allegation. “An impartial investigation should be launched into the case rather than making it a vendetta," the Minister said, adding that the culprit should not be spared while the innocent should not be convicted. (RSS)