April 8: The Finance Committee under the House of Representatives has instructed the concerned government agencies to give tax exemption on the import of machinery to be brought for the maintenance of some hydropower projects that were damaged by floods during the last monsoon season and to provide re-financing and loan rescheduling facilities for those projects.

According to the decision taken by the committee meeting on April 4, the committee sent separate letters to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Nepal Rastra Bank and Securities Board of Nepal on April 5 and directed them to send the details of the implementation of the directive to the committee within 7 days.

The energy producers who suffered losses due to the natural calamity have been complaining that they have not received relief for a long time and they have not even received customs exemptions for the import of spare parts required for maintenance.

According to the letter sent to the ministries and other government agencies, the committee has instructed them to provide relief to the under-construction and operating hydropower projects damaged due to incessant rainfall, floods and landslides from June 14 to 17.

The Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, IPPAN, the umbrella organization of private sector energy producers, said that 30 projects in the eastern region of the country suffered losses of more than Rs 8.5 billion due to the monsoon-induced disaster.

According to the letter sent to the Ministry of Finance, it has been asked to make arrangements to import necessary spare parts and equipment for the maintenance of the affected projects with a 1 percent customs duty and full exemption on value added tax. Likewise, the Ministry of Finance and the central bank have been asked to arrange re-financing facility as well as rescheduling of the interest on the loans of the affected projects according to the recommendation of the Ministry of Energy dated December 19.

Likewise, the Ministry of Finance and the SEBON have been instructed to amend the regulations as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Energy regarding the lock-in period of promoter shares in the case of affected projects.