The Apex Court has stayed the Large Tax Payers Office (LTO) from recovering the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) until further notice.
The Supreme Court has issued the temporary stay order as the Ncell has moved the Court against the Large Tax Payers Office (LTO) that has served Ncell a seven-day notice to pay its Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of Rs 39 billion within a week that expired on Monday. The telecommunications moved – on April 22 – to the Supreme Court seeking an order to vacate the LTO decision one day ago the expiry of the deadline.
The telecommunications company is, though, blamed for delaying to clear its tax liability, it has asked the Apex Court to reduce CGT to Rs 14 billion, as according to it, the LTO calculations is 'unjustifiable'.
The move to challenge the LTO's tax assessment at the apex court, which had earlier issued a verdict making Ncell and its parent company Axiata liable for the CGT dues, has been interpreted by some quarters as a tactic of the telecom to either avoid its tax liabilities or at least lower them.
The Ncell move has prompted calls on social media to boycott its services until it pays the government what it owes. It is even surprising that student unions and youth wings of political party that is in government, and loose civic groups have made a public appeal urging people 'not to use Ncell sim cards' until it pays the assessed tax. They have also accused Ncell of exploiting legal loopholes to delay and reduce its tax bill, though they have been mum on who and why allowed the TeliaSonera to leave the country without paying tax. They have also not asked to punish the then tax officials, prime ministers and finance minister, why they have let the TeliaSonera leave Nepal without paying CGT and who have assured the Axiata that it will not need to pay CGT, despite the largest deal in the country's corporate history.
"We urge the authorities to not take any anti-national decision like giving a tax exemption to Ncell,” reads a statement of government-affiliate four student and youth wings. They have also urged the public to boycott the services of the telecommunications company instead they should have pressurised the government – the ruling party and their mother organisation – to deal the case diplomatic. The government can still write the TeliaSonera – that is a government listed company in Sweden and settle the tax row or let the Court decide the case, instead of creating a mass against the joint venture company.
"If Ncell does not pay tax within 24 hours, we would like to inform through this statement that more programs will be announced to pile pressure,” the statement signed by Young Communist League's president Ram Prasad Sapkota, All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) president Nabina Lama, Youth Association of Nepal president Ramesh Kumar Paudel and All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary president Ranjit Tamang, reads.
The students unions move will not only send a terror chill in the foreign investors but also institutionalise the corruption. TeliaSonera has been said to paid huge sum to the party leaders to let it leave the country without paying tax after siging the billion-deal with Axiata.
“In filing the petition at the apex court, Ncell wants to buy more time until the case is finalised and it is also a ploy to avoid taxes,” said a lawyer Surendra Bhandari, who had pleaded in court on behalf of a group that filed the case leading to the verdict of the Supreme Court that Ncell and Axiata should pay CGT. "A video statement by Bhandari on this issue has been shared by over 14,426 users on Facebook."
Until Ncell pays the full amount of taxes, let's run a campaign not to use its Sim, he appealed, adding, "Only if we run this campaign will Ncell be compelled to pay what it owes in taxes. Otherwise it will skip taxes amounting to billions, causing a huge loss to the country."
The Supreme Court has issued the temporary stay order as the Ncell has moved the Court against the Large Tax Payers Office (LTO) that has served Ncell a seven-day notice to pay its Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of Rs 39 billion within a week that expired on Monday. The telecommunications moved – on April 22 – to the Supreme Court seeking an order to vacate the LTO decision one day ago the expiry of the deadline.
The telecommunications company is, though, blamed for delaying to clear its tax liability, it has asked the Apex Court to reduce CGT to Rs 14 billion, as according to it, the LTO calculations is 'unjustifiable'.
The move to challenge the LTO's tax assessment at the apex court, which had earlier issued a verdict making Ncell and its parent company Axiata liable for the CGT dues, has been interpreted by some quarters as a tactic of the telecom to either avoid its tax liabilities or at least lower them.
The Ncell move has prompted calls on social media to boycott its services until it pays the government what it owes. It is even surprising that student unions and youth wings of political party that is in government, and loose civic groups have made a public appeal urging people 'not to use Ncell sim cards' until it pays the assessed tax. They have also accused Ncell of exploiting legal loopholes to delay and reduce its tax bill, though they have been mum on who and why allowed the TeliaSonera to leave the country without paying tax. They have also not asked to punish the then tax officials, prime ministers and finance minister, why they have let the TeliaSonera leave Nepal without paying CGT and who have assured the Axiata that it will not need to pay CGT, despite the largest deal in the country's corporate history.
"We urge the authorities to not take any anti-national decision like giving a tax exemption to Ncell,” reads a statement of government-affiliate four student and youth wings. They have also urged the public to boycott the services of the telecommunications company instead they should have pressurised the government – the ruling party and their mother organisation – to deal the case diplomatic. The government can still write the TeliaSonera – that is a government listed company in Sweden and settle the tax row or let the Court decide the case, instead of creating a mass against the joint venture company.
"If Ncell does not pay tax within 24 hours, we would like to inform through this statement that more programs will be announced to pile pressure,” the statement signed by Young Communist League's president Ram Prasad Sapkota, All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) president Nabina Lama, Youth Association of Nepal president Ramesh Kumar Paudel and All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary president Ranjit Tamang, reads.
The students unions move will not only send a terror chill in the foreign investors but also institutionalise the corruption. TeliaSonera has been said to paid huge sum to the party leaders to let it leave the country without paying tax after siging the billion-deal with Axiata.
“In filing the petition at the apex court, Ncell wants to buy more time until the case is finalised and it is also a ploy to avoid taxes,” said a lawyer Surendra Bhandari, who had pleaded in court on behalf of a group that filed the case leading to the verdict of the Supreme Court that Ncell and Axiata should pay CGT. "A video statement by Bhandari on this issue has been shared by over 14,426 users on Facebook."
Until Ncell pays the full amount of taxes, let's run a campaign not to use its Sim, he appealed, adding, "Only if we run this campaign will Ncell be compelled to pay what it owes in taxes. Otherwise it will skip taxes amounting to billions, causing a huge loss to the country."
1 comment:
Thanks for providing this informative and comprehensive blog. This is very interesting article.
Post a Comment