Govt planning to use large electric vehiles, says FM Khatiwada

Kathmandu, Apr. 10: Shambhu Prasad Dahal has been elected president of NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal. 

NADA’s 41^st Annual General Assembly elected Dahal as the leader of the organisation on Monday.

Dahal earned a landslide victory as he got 660 votes while his opponent Ram Prasad Kandel got 68 votes. NADA has about 850 voters and 752 votes were cast. 

The AGM elected 14 central members – Krishna Prasad Dulal, Karan Kumar Chaudhary, Abhik Jyoti, Sunil Rijal, Anup Kumar Baral, Surendra Kumar Uprety, Vikram Singhaniya, Prakash Kapuri, Suraj Bhattarai, Deepak Agrawal, Milan Babu Malla, Pankaj Agrawal, Nanda Kishor Shahi and Nilmani Pathak. 

Vice-president, general secretary, treasurer and other officials will be chosen from the elected members. 

Speaking at the AGM, Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government was planning to use large electric vehicles for public service. 

He urged the private sector businesspersons to invest in auto assembly industry and pledged every support from the government, including in the establishment of an n industrial zone and providing required land. 

Countering the demand of the businessmen, including the past President of NADA and Senior Vice-President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Shekhar Golchha to lower the custom duty on vehicles, Dr. Khatiwada indicated that the government had no intention to lower the tax on vehicles. 

He rather indicated that the tax on luxury vehicles would go up. 

FM Dr. Khatiwada also urged the business community to help the government in keeping the dealings clean. 

Published in The Rising Nepal on 11 April 2018.