Officials Booked for Illegal Tax Settlement

July 18, 2017

Alcoholic beverage companies received a major tax exemption from the Tax Settlement Commission (TSC), revealed the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in its recent charge-sheet, filed at the Special Court on July 16, 2017.

The anti-graft body filed a Rs 10.2 billion graft case, each against TSC Chairman Lumba Dhwoj Mahat, member Umesh Dhakal and member secretary Chudamani Sharma, and the suspended Director General of the Inland Revenue Department.

These officials were booked for doing illegal tax settlement of almost 45 companies, with some of them getting 99 percent rebate.

List Not Exhaustive

Triveni Distillery (Rs 4.01 billion), followed by Shree Distillery (Rs 2 billion), Gorkha Brewery (Rs 914.06 million) and Mt. Everest Brewery (Rs 717.62 million), received a major tax exemption.

All the four companies, together, accounted for a tax exemption worth Rs 7.66 billion.

Besides, a total of 16 companies under probe in revenue tribunal and more than 20 companies which evaded taxes through fake VAT bills, were given tax exemption.

1000 More Files Under Probe

According to the Commission, tax exemption given to various companies is higher than what was mentioned in the TSC report.

The amount could go up as the anti-grant body is yet to investigate 1,000 more files related to tax exemption, CIAA informed.

“TSC did not even follow tax settlement work plan prepared by it for these companies,” says the CIAA charge-sheet.