Money & Finance
More than 66 per cent of taxpayers in Dhanusha district are not submitting tax information regularly. According to the Janakpurdham Inland Revenue Office, they have neither contacted the revenue office nor submitted tax details.
"More than 66 per cent of taxpayers in the district have not submitted tax details. We are worried about this," said chief tax officer Kishor Bartaula, adding that efforts were underway to identify and resolve problems.
He said his office was holding discussions with businesspersons and representatives of business organisations. The revenue office looks after the affairs of Sindhuli, Sarlahi and Mahottari districts.
According to Baral, the revenue office has launched awareness campaigns and advanced the process to take action against tax evaders.
"We will send SMS texts requesting tax information in the first phase. Following that, each taxpayer will receive a letter in the second phase. We will seek legal remedies, such as freezing the respective person's assets and bank accounts, as a last resort," he said.
Jitendra Kumar Mahaseth, president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Dhanusha, said many businesspersons were facing problems due to a lack of tax education.
He suggested that the government provide tax education while issuing value-added tax (VAT) certificates and permanent account numbers (PAN). "Taxpayers must be made aware of the consequences of failing to pay their taxes on time. One cannot be exempt from paying taxes," he said.
Factors like non-transaction after registering a business and quitting a business without closing it have made the matter worse, he said, stressing the need for the business organisations and the government to resolve the problems.
President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Dhanusha, Bijaya Sah viewed that discouragement instead of encouraging taxpayers has aggravated the problems.
"First of all, there is no conducive atmosphere for taxpayers. On the other hand, they lack knowledge about the consequences of not paying taxes on time," he said.
According to a provision, a taxpayer has bound to determine tax amounts to be paid on their own and submit the details within 25 days of the completion of the particular month.
Non payment of taxes and submission of the details have hit the revenue collection target, said Bartaula.
There are a total of 34,463 taxpayers in the district. Of them, 7,477 have been registered under VAT, and 1,435 under excise duty. The number of those registered under individual PAN has hit 71,198.
The number of those who have not submitted tax details has shot up to 24,403 in the previous fiscal year, 2021/22 against 13,527 in 2020/21, according to the revenue office.
Of the business forms registered under VAT, 4,998 have yet to come in contact in the current FY, 2022/23.
As a result, the revenue office has to collect dues amounting to over Rs573 million (over Rs 287 million under income tax and more than Rs 285 million under VAT). It has to collect interest and late fees totalling the same amount.
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