Kathmandu, Oct. 9
Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has directed the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to introduce a provision to provide cash rewards to sellers of goods and services under the taxpayer incentive programme.
Speaking at a
revenue review meeting held at the Ministry of Finance on Friday, said that the
programme has encouraged consumers to ask for bills and directly contributed to
revenue collection, so the IRD should extend incentives to sellers as well.
The government
has been rewarding consumers with cash for taking bills since the beginning of
the current fiscal year 2026/27, with the aim of developing a culture of
issuing and receiving bills and building a formal economy.
Saying that
complaints had been received that traders were reluctant to issue bills despite
the growing culture of asking for them, Dr. Wagle said sellers also needed to
be encouraged.
“It appears that
the practice of taking bills has become widespread. But it is also necessary to
introduce an incentive policy for those who are expected to issue bills,” he
told senior officials under the ministry. “Amend the procedure and bring
forward a proposal on how much can be provided and how it can be distributed,
so that issuing bills does not become a burden for them.”
He said that,
alongside developing a culture of taking bills, it was also necessary to
develop a culture of issuing them.
Under the
taxpayer incentive reward programme, which began on mid-July, one consumer has
been receiving a daily cash prize of Rs 134,000 every 15 days based on bill
numbers, while one consumer receives a bumper cash prize of Rs. 1 million
during each 15-day period.
If the department makes the necessary provision in the procedure in time, sellers will also be eligible for rewards when prizes are announced for October end. According to the MoF, the reward for sellers will be lower than that offered to consumers, although the exact amount has not yet been determined.
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