Regional summit on taxpayer service from Tuesday

Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the secretariat of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will jointly organise a regional summit on taxpayer service on November 27-31.

The four-day regional summit will focus on taxpayer service since it is a crucial issue for tax compliance, said director general at the department Tanka Mani Sharma.

SAARC countries – India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – will participate in the regional tax summit.

At least four representatives from the tax administration of each country will participate in the summit, said Sharma, adding that it is basically a meeting to share experiences.

"Representatives from all SAARC countries will share their experiences on taxpayer service and their achievements and challenges as well," added Sharma.

Taxpayer service is important for increasing tax compliance, he said. "Services need to be tailored for small taxpayers, as well as large and medium taxpayers, given the risk and revenue at stake."

The summit will also help the tax administration adopt an appropriate approach in taxpayer service since the summit will intensively discuss over the standard forms of service, the department said.

The country has started expanding taxpayer service by establishing Taxpayer Service Offices. The Inland Revenue Department has already established 13 offices in Kathmandu valley.

Similarly, the process to open more Taxpayer Service Offices is underway, according to the department. The primary objective of the Taxpayer Service Office is to provide friendly services to tax payers. Taxpayer service encourages taxpayers to understand the importance of paying taxes, according to the department.

The regional summit will open new avenues on the possibility of enhancing cooperation among SAARC member countries to deal with tax related issues, said Sharma.