Kathmandu. Hoteliers and exporters are excited with the budget presented by the government for the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83 BS. Although not everything has come in the budget, many of the issues covered are very positive, they said, adding that the implementation aspect needs to be strengthened now.
Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) President Binayak Shah said that the hoteliers are excited by the announcement made through the budget. According to him, the demands raised by the entrepreneurs ranging from the repair of road infrastructure to the operation of the airport have been included in the budget.
“The government has now come and addressed the demands we have been making for years. This has instilled enthusiasm among the hoteliers. The government should now implement the announcement made in the budget. There is a need to increase the arrival of tourists to utilize the increasing capacity of the hotel and for this, there is a need to improve the road infrastructure as well as international flights at Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports. There is also talk of regular international flights at Pokhara and Bhairahawa airports. The national highway connecting tourist destinations is likely to be upgraded soon. We have taken it positively. ’
According to him, the announcement of the budget to develop infrastructure in religious, cultural and tourist destinations is positive. Entrepreneurs have also been encouraged by the announcement to develop forest safari, trekking and eco-tourism infrastructure in national parks, reserves and protected areas and to lease government-owned land, including forest areas, for infrastructure development including hill stations, hotels, lodges.
On the other hand, export importers are also encouraged by the budget brought by the government. Jayant Kumar Agrawal, general secretary of Nepal Overseas Export Importers Association, said the budget has been taken positively.
According to him, addressing many issues of interest of the private sector through the budget and the economic ordinance that comes with it and announcing cooperation by accepting the private sector as the driving force of the economy can be taken as a positive one.
General Secretary Jayant Kumar Agrawal said, “Through this year’s budget, it has been announced that the association will study the issue of multi-rate vat raised for a long time and make the customs assessment, one of the biggest concerns of importing traders, realistic.” The announcement of replacing the reference price list (database) practiced by the customs offices with an automated evaluation system based on the database of international price trends will contribute to achieving the goal of trade facilitation. ‘
“As per our demand, the advance income tax paid at the customs point on the import of food grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and animal products has been abolished. This budget has also addressed the demand of this association to cancel the bank guarantee to be kept while taking the EXIM code. Another positive aspect of the budget is that taxpayers have to pay minimum tax even if they do not have taxable transactions,” he said.
According to him, the announcement of allowing Nepali entrepreneurs to invest abroad in the budget, reduction in land rent of SEZs, announcement of facilities similar to SEZs to industries exporting more than 30 percent of production, policy on electric vehicles, announcement of facilitation in case of more than $ 5,000 for foreign tourists entering Nepal by air and land routes by declaring them at the customs point can make the economy dynamic.
The provision of 75 percent exemption on tax on income from the export of INFORMATION technology services and the announcement of giving an opportunity to taxpayers who have not submitted income details will be given an opportunity to clear the arrears generated by the revised tax assessment made by the office is also positive.
According to him, although many things have come positive in the budget, it is wrong to increase the tariff on the import of liquor by 100 to 200 percent, ignoring the high possibility of theft.
In the current situation, the increase in tariffs and duties on unauthorized imported goods from the open border by 100 to 200 percent has widened the price gap of alcohol in neighboring India and Nepal, which is sure to encourage illegal trade and reduce lawful transactions and revenue.
Agrawal said that in the current situation of economic activity, it is mandatory to increase the income tax limit and reduce the rate of personal income tax to increase the purchasing power of the general public, but the budget has not paid attention to that.
Although it is positive that the revenue receipt target has been kept lower than the previous year, it is challenging to achieve the target set by the budget this time, he said.
According to Agrawal, the provision of not charging route fee, entry fee or any other kind of fee on the transport vehicle entering Nepal temporarily and the policy of providing fast track facility and goods testing service at the commercial site will contribute to trade facilitation.
Overall, this year’s budget has been balanced and hopeful. Its successful implementation is necessary to achieve the set goals and to benefit the targeted sections from the provisions of the budget.
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