Siddhartha Rana Becomes Highest Taxpayer

Siddhartha SJB Rana, Executive Chairman of Sipradi Trading, has become the highest individual tax payer in Nepal. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) honoured Rana on the occasion of the Second National Tax Day amid a programme held at the IRD premises on November 16 for paying the highest amount in tax in the fiscal year 2011-12.

 

“We are proud to be the largest taxpayer. We have been doing ethical business and we have shown example that we can sustain in market by paying tax,” Sambhu Prasad Dahal, Chief Executive Officer at Sipradi Trading said to The Corporate. “We are committed to promote transparency in business. Tax is not our burden but is our duty,” Dahal added.

 

Last year the list was topped by the then Executive Chairman of Nepal Investment Bank, Prithivi Bahadur Pande. However, this year Pande’s tax amount decreased as he stepped down as Executive Chairman of the bank. Sipradi Trading imports Tata vehicles, Exide batteries, Mak lubricants, Force Motor, Luminous UPS and other materials, and sells them. Tata dominates the heavy public transportation vehicles segment with 70 percent market share and also contributes 20 percent to the lighter vehicles segment. Sipradi has an annual turnover of around Rs 15 billion.

 

The Rana family has invested in Sipradi, Surya Nepal, Soaltee Hotel, Bhotekoshi Power among others. Similarly, government-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) was honoured on the occasion for paying the highest tax of over Rs 6 billion including value-added tax (VAT) and income tax. NT had bagged this honour in the last fiscal year also. Surya Nepal, a company with around Rs 14 billion annual transactions, has been honoured as the company that paid the highest amount in excise duty. Gorkha Brewery, that produces beer including the popular Carlsberg, was the highest payer of excise duty in the previous fiscal year. 

 

Similarly, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has been honoured for paying the highest income tax among the public enterprises after paying Rs 650 million. Unilever Nepal has become the highest taxpayer. Everest Bank leads the banks and financial institutions (BFIs). 

 

IRD also honoured Ganapti Box Industries for regularly filing tax returns adhering to all the rules since VAT was implemented. Mahalaxmi Jewelry House of Biratnagar has also been felicitated for regularly paying income tax within the stipulated time since 1950.

 

The government started to award top taxpayers from the last fiscal year and has marked Mangshir 1 as the National Tax Day.