BUDGET 2010-11: Highlights

* Manufacturing industries and hotels will get the benefit of direct purchase of diesel form the NOC at dealer’s price, in quantity exceeding at least one tanker at a time, for industrial and commercial uses.

* Arrangement has been made to provide two per cent of incentive in equivalent Nepalese currency to exporters on submission of bank documents that they have received convertible currencies earned from exports. If the value addition of exported commodities exceeds 50 per cent, such incentive will be three per cent and if it is more than 80 per cent then the incentive will be four per cent.

* They will also be entitled to a 25 per cent income tax exemption.

* The government will arrange a health post staffed with health workers and a police post of five-armed police personnel to any manufacturing industry that offers employment for more than 500 Nepalis.

* Any manufacturing establishment providing employment for more than 100 people will get the benefit of black topped roads reaching the premises, electrical grids and waterline.

* Likewise, infrastructure of Pokhara, Gautam Buddhha, and Janakpur airports will be developed to make them capable of operating international flights.

* The birthday place of Lord Buddha Lumbini, Kapilvastu, Devdaha and Ramgram will be developed as 'International Peace City'.

* A Strategic Master Plan to develop Janakpur, Pokhara and Lumbini as interdependent and complementary triangular destinations for tourism.

* Government will provide Rs 500,000 cash to any event that brings more than 100 foreign passport holders entering Nepal through air- route.

* Allocation of necessary budget for publicity of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 through international communication media.

* Advertisement Code of Conduct to be to make advertisement and commercial publicity systematic and respectable.

* Micro hydropower projects will be implemented in the entire hilly and mountainous region where the access to national grid is not possible and there is possibility of micro hydropower.

* Budhi Gandaki (600MW), Naushyalgad (400MW), 300 Tamor (300MW) and Aandhikhola (175MW) projects will be brought into operation under the appropriate partnership. Feasibility study will be carried out for Tamakoshi V and Upper Arun Project.

* National Building Code will be revised and brought into implementation in order to manage and facilitate modern amenities to address increasingly unmanaged urbanisation and housings.

* Establishing 10 new modern cities for business and residential purpose in the vicinity of Mid-hills Highway (Lok Marga) and North-South corridors.

* The old bridges of Godawari of Dhangadhi, Bheri of Surkhet, Dharke and Mugling, and bridges across Pathalaiya to Koshi will be maintained and repaired with priority.

* Construction of six lane wide roads linking international trade routes namely Birgunj-Pathlaiya, Belahiya-Butwal, Rani-Itahari and Surya Binayak-Dhulikhel.

* Existing land classification system will be refined. New Classifiaction system of land into six categories: agricultural, industrial, forestry, commercial, residential and public community.

* To encourage cooperative sector to establish and operate large agriculture and animal farms, government will provide infrastructures like roads, irrigation and electricity.

* To purchase machinery and equipment for processing cardamom, ginger, tea, coffee and honey, 50 per cent capital subsidy will be provided to the cooperative of the small farmers.

* Concessional loans to the livestock raising farmers to be lent through Small Farmers Development Bank and Small Farmers Cooperatives.

* Nepal-based authorised dealers of the vehicle importers need to publish maximum retail price of the vehicles in the national-level daily newspaper every four months.

* One can pay an advance lump sum payment of vehicle, land and house taxes for the next five years at existing rates.

* Among the existing seven slabs of import duty, the 25 per cent rate slab has been removed, reducing the present seven slabs to six slabs.

* 25 per cent tax rebate to people who earn income out of export of goods produced by using local raw materials.

* Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) will be restructured as 'Department of Revenue and Money Laundering Investigation' and will be equipped with adequate resources.

* 40 per cent tax exemption in income accruing from investment in the construction and operation of infrastructure development sectors like roads, bridges, airports and tunnels.

* Fiscal Year 2010-11 will be observed as 'Tax Implementation Campaign Year”.

* Establishment a 'High-Level Public Enterprises Management Board' to monitor public enterprises.

* Management of 5,400 schools will be handed over to the communities during the current Fiscal Year.

* Has made arrangements for compulsory VAT registration for educational consultancy, discotheque, health club, catering, party palace business, mechanically operated dry cleaning service and restaurant with bar operating in municipality areas and other areas specified by Inland Revenue Department.

* Free education to girls students and students from extremely marginalised communities from grade 1 to 8 in the community schools.

* Legal provisions will be made to set up credit rating agency in order to enhance the credibility of the credit market.

* Investment of NRNs in the capital market will be allowed.

* The law will be promulgated for the effective regulation and supervision of futures and commodities' markets.

* Small Deposit Guarantee Programme covering up to Rs 200,000 started last year for D-Class financial institutions extended to B and C also.

* Price cartelling, quantitative complicity and any other type of organised syndicating will be treated as unlawful.

* Grants will be provided for the registration of collective trade marks for tea and coffee in the international market.