NORTH KOREA DEFEATS NEPAL

MAOIST, UML TALKS POSITIVE

Kathmandu, 9 April: A Maoist, UML summit Saturday discussed four issues ‘with a possible agreement Sunday’, Maoist Vice-chairman Narayan Kazi Shresths said after the meeting.
The talks were ‘serious’ and ‘completely positive’, he added.
Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal,,who is also UML Chairman, and Maoist Chief Prachanda were assisted by aides.
Discussions centered around a common minimum programme of the two communist parties, formation of a high-level political mechanism, delayed government expansion and the budget, Shrestha said.
Maoists are demanding strict implementation of a secret 7-point agreement between Prachanda and Khanal in February.
The agreement secures government’s top job for Maoists under a deal to share its leadership on rotational basis and creation of a separate state security unit with former Maoist combatants who number 19,000 plus.
The largest party in parliament—Maoists-- argue peace can be concluded and a constitution declared with a government under its leadership.
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THARUS CALL OFF STRIKE FOR ONE WEEK (UPDATE)
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Kathmandu, 9 April: Tharus Saturday called off their indefinite strike for one week until next Saturday not to disturb Chaite Dasain and New Year 2068 celebrations.
Three activists of Tharu Rajya Parishad were injured in a Maoist attack Saturday in Kailali.
A vehicle defying the strike was damaged in an attack in Sunsari.
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NEPAL DEFEATED BY NORTH KOREA (UPDATE)

Kathmandu, 9 April: Nepal was defeated 1-0 by Asian soccer giant North Korea Saturday in a AFC Challenge Cup Group D qualifier.
The solitary goal came in the 32nd minute.
Nepal won its first outing against Afghanistan 1-0 Thursday and will meet Sri Lanka in last league match Monday.
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POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMME HELPING WOMEN





Kathmandu, 9 April: Few years back, Anju Thapa of Harsahi Village Development Committee used to lock her inside a room whenever a stranger came near her, The Rising Nepal reports from Harsahi in SIndhuli.
But now Anju has changed a lot. These days, she easily gets along with people and can actively participate in any sorts of discussion.
All credit goes to Poverty Alleviation Fund programme, which was launched some five years back that helped Thapa to regain her confidence. In fact, the skill oriented training under the project has stood as a boon for not Thapa and other women of the district.
"I have achieved tremendous changes in my life owing to the project," shared Thapa.
Thapa also a treasurer of Remote Women Community Association remarked that earlier she used to either lock herself in a room or run away whenever a visitor came to her.
The Remote Women Community Association is run by the Poverty Alleviation Fund.
The programme also provided many employment opportunities for the destitute women and helped them in being self reliant.
Rita Dahal said that she has taken loan of Rs 30,000 from the Association and bought a buffalo from it.
She said that she was able to eke out her daily livelihood by selling the milk.
Dahal said the 33 women from the destitute families were affiliated with the association from where they can take loan and seek employment.
Dinesh Adhikari, president of the Remote Development Society, informed that each woman member had deposited Rs. 10 to Rs. 25 per month at the association.




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MORE DETAILS ON FAKE VAT BILLS


Kathmandu, 9 April: Amid massive uproar in Parliament and outside over evasion of value added tax (VAT) by big business houses and the Finance Minister’s reportedly going soft on evaders, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday instructed the government to take stringent action against them, The Kathmandu Post reports.

In the wake of the PAC’s directive, the Finance Ministry will find it hard to give any leeway to VAT evaders. Impatient at the slow progress in the multi-billion Unity Life International (ULI) probe, the parliamentary committee also asked the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry to submit their reports within four days.

The PAC meeting on Friday instructed the Finance Ministry to take the severest action possible against the 480 firms identified as having dodged VAT and submit a progress report every 15 days.

According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), it has already completed a probe against 21 taxpayers out of the 38 investigated by the department and established that they used fake VAT bills worth Rs 2.27 billion.

It has already determined VAT worth Rs 654.1 million including fines and interest, according to a Finance Ministry letter sent to the PAC. As payment of income tax on the amount involved in the fake bills, they will have to pay Rs 1.21 billion.

Of the 14 cases investigated by Inland Revenue Offices (IROs), investigation into one has been completed and the IRO determined VAT of Rs 16 million and income tax liabilities of Rs 29 million, according to the ministry’s letter. The IRD said that it had already told the concerned Inland Revenue Offices to determine the income tax liabilities. According to the IRD, renowned businesses houses of the country are involved in the multi-billion fake VAT bill scam.

The IRD has initiated investigation into an additional 480 suspected VAT evasion cases. Reading out the decision, PAC chairman Ram Krishna Yadav told the Finance Ministry to take stringent and effective action against such tax evaders in the future. A senior IRD official said, “With the latest publicity of VAT evasion cases by using fake bills, there has been significant increase in tax compliance.”

There has been a rise in income tax by 29 percent, 19 percent in VAT and 20 percent in excise duty as of mid-March, according to IRD. “Earlier, the growth rate was sluggish,” said the IRD official.

Although PAC had told the ministry to submit details of tax evaders who used fake bills, the ministry responded it was unable to provide details as the VAT Act and the Income Tax Act required it to maintain secrecy and not disclose such details except to certain designated officials.

These acts allow only the finance minister, officials related to tax collection and the court to have access to such information.

Following the Finance Ministry’s response, PAC also notified it that keeping the names and other details of tax evaders secret would encourage them to continue committing crimes.

Fake bill users not only used the bills to evade tax but also to claim VAT refunds from the government without conducting any business transactions. The IRD found that Thalman Subedi, an auditor from Pokali, Okhaldhunga, siphoned off Rs 117 million from the government treasury using counterfeit bills. Subedi produced forged bills for imported raw materials and customs clearance documents for exports.

He misused the government’s VAT refund facility provided to exporters. As per the VAT refund facility, the VAT paid by an individual while importing or purchasing raw materials is refunded after the goods manufactured from those raw materials have been exported.

Subedi received the amount from the government on the pretext of exporting goods worth Rs 900 million through seven of his firms. As per the Finance Ministry’s letter, the government has determined the VAT of Rs 130 million against five such taxpayers. “This amount is, however, exclusive of the amount to be paid by Subedi,” said a senior official of IRD. In order to address such practices, PAC directed the ministry to take action against government employees helping in fake exports and to submit the details every month.

With government agencies losing enthusiasm to take action against the culprits of the Unity Life International scheme, PAC directed the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry to submit the probe report to it within the next four days. Following the order, the police issued arrest warrants against Unity kingpins chairman Kashiram Gurung and managing director Bishnu Bahadur Chhetri, among others. They are at large. Moreover, they have been mobilising their agents to withdraw the arrest warrants. The Unity activists have been staging a sit-in in front of the head offices of the three major political parties.

With the Finance Ministry issuing letters to all the ministries to withhold the budget not spent as of March 27, the PAC told the Finance Ministry not to stop the expenditure on projects approved by Parliament while terming the circular an insult to it.

The ministry had instructed the ministries to withhold the unspent budget to manage funds for a supplementary budget. With the government already having decided to bring a full budget on May 3, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari has told PAC that he would not implement the circular.
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