Finance Minister directs IRD employees to be responsible for revenue collection

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has instructed the employees of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to be responsible for revenue collection. At a programme organised on Wednesday, Minister Mahat asked the employees of IRD all over the country to work with high morale. He urged IRD employees to be dutifully and not to work for personal benefits. Minister Mahat opined that there should be no compromise on the tax received by the state for taking personal benefits. The finance minister said, "The biggest challenge for the Finance Ministry is to raise resources. We are responsible for raising resources to address all the needs of the state. He added, "We want the revenue to contribute to our salary allowance, social security and capital expenditure needs. However, we are not able to complete it." He said, "It is not enough to increase the scope of revenue, the economy has to be viable, and for that, the government has considered making the capital expenditure sustainable through the budget proposal." "We cannot always depend on revenue based on customs," he said adding internal loans and foreign loans should be invested in productive sectors. He also emphasized the role of IRD in expanding the scope of taxation. Minister Mahat suggested bringing some businesses under the scope of income tax through a mechanism. He said VAT should be taken seriously. "It is a serious matter that the amount paid by the service users to the state is misused," he said and added, "The amount allocated by the service recipient to the state cannot be used by others under the pretext of discount." Finance Minister Mahat instructed IRD to take the matter seriously and take measures to stop the misuse of VAT.