Nepalis Obliged to Clear Income Tax Dues by ‘June 7’

Even though people are reeling under financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Nepali Government has further escalated the burden as it turned stringent to the taxpayers.

Lately, the Nepali Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has issued a public notice urging taxpayers to clear tax dues by June 7, 2020.

As per the notice, the business entities are supposed to clear Value Added Tax (VAT) dues between November 2019 and March 2020 within the stipulated date.

The taxpayers should pay the excise duty and income tax of February – April 2020 within the prescribed date. Similarly, education service charges and telephone tariffs should be cleared.

“Any taxpayer failing to clear the taxes and fees within the date will face delay charges and cash penalty,” stated IRD.

The Nepali Government has refused to extend the tax clearance deadline beyond June 7 as it is reeling under high pressure to manage even the recurrent expenditure.

The government has failed drastically to reach the revenue collection target this fiscal due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

As of June 1, 2020, the government has collected just 56% of the revenue target of NPR 1.11 trillion for the current FY 2019/20.

Moreover, the Federal Budget for FY 2077/78 has projected to spend NPR 948.94 billion in regular expenditure while the targeted revenue collection is NPR 889.62 billion.

Earlier, the taxpayers were supposed to submit the details and file their taxes by the end of the third quarter in mid-April.

However, with the implementation of a nationwide lockdown on March 24, the Nepali Government has extended the tax filing deadline till June 7.