Kathmandu: The government is tasked with collecting Rs 275 billion in tax arrears from 30,912 taxpayers for the fiscal year 2081/82 BS. As outlined in the annual progress report from the Inland Revenue Department, the most significant portion of these dues, amounting to Rs 219 billion, is related to income tax liabilities from 193,620 taxpayers.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the report also highlights that Rs 48.70 billion is still pending from 137,253 taxpayers in Value Added Tax (VAT) arrears. Additionally, there are dues of Rs 4.9 billion from 364 taxpayers related to Excise Duty, and Rs 3.15 billion from 1,770 taxpayers in other categories.
The report indicates that last fiscal year’s target for collecting tax dues was not met satisfactorily. Specifically, only Rs 8.71 billion was collected towards income tax, which is merely 38.29 percent of the Rs 22.76 billion target. Similarly, for VAT, the collection was Rs 10.33 billion, achieving 63.28 percent of the Rs 16.33 billion target.
Efforts to adjust income tax arrears resulted in the collection of Rs 21.39 billion, against a target of Rs 27.38 billion. The Inland Revenue Department had aimed to collect Rs 18.17 billion towards VAT, exceeding the previous fiscal year’s target progress by achieving Rs 22.29 billion in collections.