SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETS TUESDAY INSTEAD OF MONDAY

SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETS ON TUESDAY INSTEAD OF MONDAY
Kathmandu, 7 Nov. A meeting of the special committee for the integration of 19,000 plus Maoist former fighters headed ex-officio by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is now being held Tuesday.
The meeting to draw up processes for completion of integration of
only 6.500 former combatants in Nepal Army under a directorate and , resettlement was scheduled to be held Monday.
The meeting has been rescheduled as most of the committee
members from major parties are not in the country.
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MINISTER REVEALS COOKING GAS PRICE BEING INCREASED
Kathmandu, 7 Nov.: Minister for Commerce and Supplies, Lekh Raj Bhatta, today ‘inadvertently’ revealed that Nepal Oil Corporation would hike the price of

LPG (popularly known as cooking gas) within a week, sparking fears of hoarding

by gas dealers and drawing the wrath of consumer rights organizations, The Himalayan Times reports.

In a programme organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies in the capital, Minister Bhatta revealed ministry’s plan without realising the gravity of the issue.

Consumer rights activists say when a responsible minister himself lets out cooking gas price hike information a week earlier, against the normal practice, there is a strong possibility of hoarding by gas dealers.

They dubbed the minister’s revelation a “chance for traders to hoard gas by creating artificial shortage of cylinders in the market.”

“Minister Bhatta has committed a blunder,” consumer rights activist Prem Lal Maharjan said, adding that he has flouted the norms of official secrecy while dealing with price hike information.

“The minister has committed the mistake knowingly or unknowingly,” he said, adding that Bhatta should have been more careful while dealing with an issue of such public importance.

Maharjan also blamed the minister for being under the influence of the Gas Dealers’ Federation of Nepal, thus leaking the information

to them.

“The minister should be more responsible before speaking on such a serious issue like LPG price hike as lots of consumers in the country are directly affected by the decision,” he added.

Another consumer rights activist, Jyoti Baniya, also dubbed the leakage of price hike news beforehand as “irresponsible”, saying the market would surely witness severe shortage of cooking gas from tomorrow due to hoarding by dealers.

“Can the minister who let out the information regulate the market and end the culture of hoarding?” Baniya asked. “It is not fair to reveal the price hike decision if he cannot ensure that there will not be any hoarding by the dealers,” he added.

“Petroleum dealers have already started to hoard products forcing consumers to face hard time to get gas cylinders,” Baniya lamented.

Recently, NOC had come under the scanner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority when it supplied petroleum products from its Thankot depot a day before hiking price.

Accusing the NOC officials of leaking the price hike information to dealers, the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights had lodged a

complaint with CIAA on October 12.

Foul play

• Bhatta’s revelation against norms

• Minister accused of link with dealers

• NOC already under CIAA scanner
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REBEL MAOIST LEADER DEV GURUNG CALLS FOR NATIONAL GOVT.LED BY UCPN (MAOIST)

Kathmandu, 7 Nov.: Unified CPN-Maoist Standing Committee member Dev Gurung today stressed the need to form a national unity government led by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, The Himalayan Times reports from Besisahar.

“Consensus government is a must to resolve the crisis in the country and as the single largest party in the CA, the Maoists must lead the government,” Gurung told mediapersons at Besisahar in Lamjung.

Stating that the incumbent government was formed on the basis of the four-point deal signed with the Joint Madhesi Front, Gurung, close to the Maoist hardline faction led by Mohan Baidhya, said it could not take the shape of a national unity government.

In a different context, Gurung said the decision to distance Maoist fighters from their weapons would not be acceptable to the hardliners. Commenting on the allegation that the Baidhya side was creating dispute in the party for power and prestige, Gurung accused that ideologically deviated cowardly members in the party were trying to assassinate their character.

Reminding that the Baidhya faction was never against peace and statute, Gurung said they wanted parties to complete the peace process as per the provision in the Interim Constitution. Noting that debate and dispute were natural in a vibrant communist party, Gurung said intra-party rift would not lead to a split in the party.

In yet another context, Gurung remarked that his party would not obstruct the Upper Marsyangdi Second Hydro Project’s operation as they had reached agreement with the management, Himal Hydro Power. “But if the management violates the agreement, the project will be scrapped,” Gurung warned.
NC-LED GOVT.
The Himalayan Times reports from Taulihawa: Nepali Congress central leader and Constituent Assembly member Sashank Koirala today said that a consensus government would be led by the NC president Sushil Koirala.
“The NC chief will lead the unity government,” Koirala told mediapersons in Taulihawa, Kapilvastu.
Recalling that Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahala and late NC president Girija Prasad Koirala had agreed to integrate 3,500 Maoist fighters into the security forces, Koirala expressed dissatisfaction over the number of Maoist combatants to be integrated into NA in the seven-point deal. He complained that lack of implementation of past agreements and understandings by the Maoists had delayed conclusion of the peace process. He insisted that only an NC-led government would be able to conclude the peace and statute writing processes. “Completion of peace and the statute is possible under NC-led government as Maoist and UML-led governments had failed to finish those tasks,” Koirala added.
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GOVT. MULLS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST SOME VA EVADERS

Kathmandu, 7 Nov.: Some firms involved in the Value Added Tax (VAT) evasion scam could face criminal charges also. The Finance Ministry has started discussions on the criminal charges that may be filed against those firms who used bills of other firms without letting them know and used innocent people to set up firms just to issue fake VAT bills, The Kathmandu Post reports.
According a high-level source at the Finance Ministry, discussions on filing criminal charges against the firms have begun after lawmakers at the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee spoke in favour of sending those involved in such crime behind bars.
Finance Minister Barsaman Pun has already made it clear that filing criminal charges against them cannot be ruled out.
According to Rajan Khanal, the director general of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), tax officers only can impose fines in cases of tax evasion as per the existing laws related to taxes. “Tax officers do not have the right to file criminal charges,” he said. “Other agencies concerned can take action for criminal offence if they term such activities a crime after our investigation.” He added that they are taking action against tax evaders as per the existing tax laws.
According to an official involved in investigating the scam, some companies have used fake bills to evade tax in a planned manner. While they printed fake bills of other companies, they were found to have opened bank accounts in the names of other companies and deposited the amount mentioned in the fake bills and latter withdrew the cash from the banks.
Some of them have evaded tax by registering firms in the names of their own workers and innocent villagers and making bills of the purchase of goods from them, investigations have revealed.
“However, the number of those committing such crime is low,” the source said.
An executive member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has been found to have printed bills in the name of companies owned by two other executive members of the FNCCI just to show the purchase of goods from them so that tax could be evaded.
Suspecting such a crime, the IRD had inquired with owners of the companies in whose names the bills were issued and those that received the bills.
“The owners of the bill-issuing companies were surprised when they were shown the fake bills issued in the name of their companies,” a source involved in the investigations said.
A businessman involved in such crime had purchased goods five years ago from another company. On the basis of the same bills, the businessman printed fake bills and evaded tax by showing the purchase of goods.
The IRD probe has also found a housing developer with foreign investment using fake bills. The Inland Revenue Office called a supplier of bricks to a housing project after suspecting the evasion of tax on brick purchase. However, the owner of the brick supplying company was unaware of the supply to the housing company concerned. “We confirmed that the housing company made fake bills of the brick factory itself and deposited the amount that was earned through the sale of bricks in the name of the brick factory and latter withdrew that amount,” the source said.
Advocate Sajanbar Singh Thapa said such modus operandi falls under the category of criminal offence. “Making bills in the name of other companies without their approval, making and using fake bills and saying no transaction to be transaction is fraud,” he said.
He said police should be asked to investigate the firms and fraud charges filed against them after they are penalised as per the tax laws.
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GOVT. ASKS FOR APECF HELP TO DEVELOP LUMBINI
Kathmandu, 7 Nov.: The government has formally requested the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF) to register itself in Nepal so as to “legally” help the development of Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, Kamal Deb
Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post..
According to Culture Minister Gopal Kirati, the government has invited APECF executive chief Xiao Hiaunan to Nepal and requested him to register the organisation with the Social Welfare Council. An affiliation with the Council is a must for all NGOs and INGOs to operate in Nepal. According to Kirati, the government will receive a letter from APECF requesting the affiliation in a couple of days. APECF is a Chinese government-backed INGO that works in the Asia Pacific region.
Earlier, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s initiative to bring in investment worth US$ 3 billion from APECF was dragged into controversy for allegedly keeping government authorities concerned in the dark about it. Dahal is the co-vice-chairman of APECF.
In a letter sent to APECF, the government has thanked the INGO for showing interest in Lumbini’s development. It has also urged the INGO to chip in with aid as per the rules and regulations of Nepal.
Before leaving for New York on Saturday, Dahal told reporters that APECF is also a part of Lumbini’s development.
The Lumbini Development Steering Committee led by Dahal plans to develop Lumbini as a ‘world peace city’ within the next five years.
Dahal is currently in New York to hold talks with United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on a broader master plan for Lumbini and seek international assistance for the same.
Lumbini, in Rupandehi district, around 300 km southwest of Kathmandu, found a place in the World Heritage Site list in 1997.
During talks on November 8, Dahal will request Ban to chair the Broader Lumbini International Development Committee and hold an international meeting on the place’s development at the secretary general’s office in New York. If Ban refuses to chair the committee, Dahal will request other internationally recognised persons to take up the job. The first Lumbini master plan crafted in 1978 aims to build about 7.7 square km of the area as Lumbini Garden. However, the newly formed committee aims to prepare a broader master plan covering three districts—Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Nawalparasi. A UML member in the committee, Mangal Siddhi Manandhar, said the development of Lumbini as ‘world peace city’ will contribute to the country’s economic growth. “Lumbini is related to Nepal’s prosperity and overall economic development,” Dahal said, before leaving for New York.
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