Govt publishes list of over 29,000 companies who are yet to pay VAT

KATHMANDU: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has published the details of more than 29,000 taxpayers who have neither submitted their details nor paid the due value added tax (VAT) for many years.

The department has published the names of the 29,447 taxpayers who have not submitted their regular tax dues till mid-July 2020 since the implementation of the VAT system in the country.

The department said that the names and details of the companies have been made public as a last chance for them to pay their due taxes. It also informed that it will start the de-registration process of those taxpayers who refuse to pay the taxes from the VAT system.

The notice published by the department states that it will provide 50 percent discount on the fine if the taxes are paid by mid-March. It has also mentioned that it will not levy any fine for late payment and other interests if taxpayers liable to pay as per the Economic Act 2020’s article 21 (3) pay their VAT by mid-March.

The department has registered around 260,000 taxpayers under VAT. Out of this total, 29,447 taxpayers or 11.32 percent have been listed as non-payers of VAT.

The list reveals that even big business people and industrialists have not paid their regular taxes. As per the department’s list, some of the noted industrialists include Basanta Chaudhary of Impact International; Suraj Vaidya who owns Nirvana Tea Processing and Packaging, Neco Alliance, Suzuki Incorporate; Prem Prakash Khetan of Himalayan Multinational; Nanda Kishore Rathi of Pashupati Solvent; ShriNiwas Sharda of Rubber Industries; Avinash Bohara of Premium Synthetics, and Gaurav Sharda of SPG Marketing Pvt Ltd, among others.

The list also includes construction companies including JV Construction in which Sharada Prasad Adhikari has a share. Rasuwa Construction in which Mohan Acharya has a share, Surya Chandra Construction in which Janardan Dhakal has a stake and Himdung Construction of Bahadur Singh, among others, are also mentioned in the list.
According to the department, the list includes different companies related to film industry, hotels and restaurants too.
Among the listed companies, the department is unaware about the companies that are still in operation and those that have been closed down. As per prevalent law, if taxpayers shut down their transactions then they have to submit that detail to the department. If they fail to do so then they are listed as non-filer liable to pay VAT.