CIAA INTERVENES TO STOP FRIDAY'S AGM OF BISHAL BAZZAR COMPANY

________________________________________

CIAA INTEVENES TO STOP AGM OF BISHAL BAZZAR COMPANY

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: CIAA has intervened and directed not to hold an annual general meeting of the Bishal Bazzar Company Friday.
CIAA Spokesman Ishwari Paudel said the meeting was being held without converting government land worth Rs. 3.98 billion into company shares as directed by supreme court and the ant-graft body.
The departmental along New Road is constructed on government land.
Government will own majority 95 percent stake in the company after shares are distributed.
It’s suspected present company management was trying to evade sharing profit with government.
nnnn

NAME CHANGE OF SANIMA BIKASH BANK TO SANIMA BANK APPROVED

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: Sanima Bikash Bank will now operate as Sanima Bank after an annual general meeting Thursday approved the name change of Sanima Bikash Bank.
Nepal Rashtra Bank has upgraded Sanima Bikash Bank from a development to a commercial bank.
Nnnn

NRB DIRECTS TO LOWER INSURANCE RATE
Kathmandu, 2 Dec.:: Central bank has directed the commercial banks to get their small deposits insured as soon as possible but Nepal Bankers Association (NBA) is lobbying to get deposit insurance premium lowered, The Himalayan Times reports.

The banks have difficulty in paying the deposit insurance premium, said NBA’s president Ashoke Rana in an official meeting with the governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada at the central bank today.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) needs to consider revising the premium, he requested, urging to separate premium on the basis of class of financial institutions. The Class A- commercial banks, Class B-development banks, Class C-finance companies and Class D-microcredit institutions should have different premium rates, according to the association.

But Khatiwada pointed out that the insurance premium depends on the business size and risks on which regulator can not interfere.

“The central bank can do nothing in premium as it comes under the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Corporation that is a government entity,” he said.

The deposit insurance is a safety mechanism that will cushion the fall of any banks and financial institutions incase it goes into liquidation, so the banks need to get their deposits insured soon, Khatiwada said, adding that the central bank is open to more dialogues.

The governor also asked the banks to publish stress related indicators in their monthly balance sheet that they publish every month.

Both the fiscal and monetary policy of the current fiscal year had directed the commercial banks to get their small deposits up to Rs 200,000 insured by the deposit insurer Deposit and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DCGC) by the end of current fiscal year. The central bank is also planning to fine the banks and financial institutions that doesnot follow the financial and monetary policy.

The Deposit and Credit Guarantee Corporation charges Rs 0.2 as guarantee fee for every Rs 100 worth of eligible deposits held at the financial institutions annually that is required to pay on half yearly basis.

Deputy governor Maha Prasad Adhikari replying the bankers query on how the premium is managed, on the occasion, informed that the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Corporation is investing premium on the government securities.

Among 31 commercial banks, only four — Mega Bank, Citizens Bank International, Machchhapuchhre Bank and Civil Bank — have got their deposits insured by DCGC till date.
nnnn

DISCOVERY OF NEW WAY OF TAX EVASION
Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: The department of Revenue Investigation has found new method of evading Value Added Tax (VAT) by some industries that produce materials like cement and rod, The Himalayan Times reports.

“It is found that industries are issuing invoices of additional construction materials in the name of contractors,” the department source said, “But depots of concerned companies pay the amount of materials.”

The reason is to receive VAT refund of all materials from the government, he clarified. “However, depots of such industries sell cement and rod to the consumers without issuing Value Added Tax (VAT) bills.”

Industries are cheating a large chunk of revenue like this, an official from Inland Revenue Department said, adding that revenue authority has been failing to curb such trend due to nexus between industrialist and politicians. Meanwhile, Department of Revenue Investigation is carrying out investigation of Laxmi Steel suspecting Value Added Tax (VAT) evasion using the same method. “The department had confiscated bills and accounts ledger from the office of Laxmi Steel,” director general Shanta Bahadur Shrestha said, adding that the department has asked Inland Revenue Office, area No 3 to carry out detailed investigation against the company.
Nnnn