Kathmandu, Dec. 29
Nepal
Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Bishnu Prasad Paudel to recognise the transaction value of imported and
exported goods at the customs.
It
also requested him to widen the scope of revenue by simplifying the customs process.
"When
the reference price is maintained in the customs process, it has affected the
revenue and encouraged illegal transactions. The government's revenue
collection has also been affected. Therefore, the government should recognise
the transaction value," President of NCC, Rajendra Malla urged newly appointed
DPM and Finance Minister Paudel at a meeting with the latter Thursday
afternoon.
Malla
requested the DPM to stop the illegal transactions at the border crossings and
organise the customs system and make it more efficient.
The
delegation of the NCC led by Malla discussed the economic and financial
situation of the country with the DPM and drew his attention to eight issues
such as improvement in public expenditure, facilitation of customs, suspension
of guidelines related to working capital loans.
Malla
emphasised that a single digit interest rate should be maintained in order to
achieve the government's goal of double-digit economic growth. Since the
private sector is unable to implement the guidelines related to working capital
loans introduced by the Nepal Rastra Bank, it should be suspended immediately.
He
also suggested that the capital budget that couldn't be utilised by the three
levels of the governments should be mobilised through the banks and financial
institutions (BFIs).
In
response, DPM Paudel said that he was serious about the demands raised by the NCC.
“There
is no alternative for the government and the private sector to move forward
together for the economic prosperity and progress of the country,” he said, adding
that he had started initiatives to solve all the problems seen in the economy.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 30 December 2022.
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