Finance Minister orders to submit expenditure plan within a week

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma today asked the ministries to submit an expenditure plan within a week to expedite the capital expenditure.

The government has failed to boost the capital expenditure putting pressure on Finance Ministry as it has aimed to increase the capital expenditure to 90 per cent – in the current fiscal year 2021-22 – in its mid-term budgetary review.

“It seems the target of  mid-term budgetary review is not going to be met as according to the progress report as of today,” he said, asking the secretaries of the top 10 ministries, which has high capital budget allocation.

Speaking at a programme organised at the Finance Ministry to review the budgets of 10 ministries with high capital budget allocation till March 8, the finance minister also directed to implement the budget according to the mid-term review.

Pledging that the Finance Ministry will extend all possible assistance to increase the capital expenditure to 90 per cent, the minister said that the ministries, which have a large capital budget, have spent less, whereas the ministries with less capital budget have spent more. “It is a matter of concern that the progress of the ministries with high capital expenditure is not satisfactory, whereas the ministries with low capital expenditure allocations have seen a very high percentage of progress.

“It is still more serious concern that the ministries that are unable to spend the allocated capital budget are asking for more budget,” said finance secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, on the occasion.

The ministries, however, claimed that they could spend up to 85 per cent of the capital budget, though, according to the Office of the Comptroller General, the government has not been able to spend 20 per cent of the capital budget till date.

Ncell contributes Rs 129 billion to government coffer

Ncell Pvt Ltd (Ncell) today announced that it has contributed approximately Rs 129 billion to the national treasury, in the form of fees, royalty and taxes to date. As a long-term and committed investor in the country, Ncell aims to maintain its lead as the largest tax payer of the country in coming years as well, it said.
"As of May 4, Ncell has contributed Rs 128.63 billion to the government in the form of tax, royalty and fees," managing director of Ncell Simon Perkins said.
"I am encouraged that Ncell has made significant contributions to the state treasury, which serves as important source of public funding in areas where it matters the most – such as building roads, schools and medical infrastructures that are core to the well being and welfare of the people of Nepal,” he said.
Ncell is the highest taxpayer in Nepal and has contributed steadily to government coffers for the fiscal years 2012-13 (2069-70) and 2013-14 (2070-71).
"In the fiscal year 2014-15 (2071-72) alone, Ncell paid more than Rs 28.6 billion to the government as tax, royalty and fees,” Perkins said, adding that the company wishes to continue with this trend and maintain its lead as the largest taxpayer for the longer-term.”
In order to maintain the lead and take the company to the next level, Ncell on May 9, has announced its largest ever capital expenditure (capex) spend of $120 million (approximately Rs 12 billion) for the remainder of 2016, aiming to expand 3G aggressively in rural and remote areas and also to enhance quality in areas where it is already present.
Ncell presently has network coverage that reaches out to 92 per cent of population, and serves more than 13 million customers. In recent years, Ncell has been rapidly expanding 3G, and has requested Nepal Telecommunications for approval for the company to provide 4G services.
Divulging more on revenue contribution, Perkins disclosed that Ncell as of May 4, has paid Rs 30.69 billion in advance tax, Rs 39.66 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT), more than Rs 7 billion in license fees, as well as approximately Rs 8.95 billion in royalty, among others. The company has also contributed Rs 4.20 billion to the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF).
The telecommunication company’s contribution to the state coffers has been growing significantly year-on-year, which reflects Ncell’s ambitious investment plans and growth. Ncell has also been solidly contributing towards socioeconomic development in various areas of Nepali society, the telecommunication company added.
In keeping with its unblemished profile as a responsible corporate citizen committed to the welfare of the people and nation of Nepal, Ncell also aims at working closely with the regulator and the government to fulfil national goals to benefit Nepalis populace through the use of technology that can bring immediate and impactful results in education, health and mobile financial services, among others.