Kathmandu, 13 August. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has concluded that only Rs. The authority has filed a case against the Tax Fraud Commission formed in 2071 BS after investigating only a few limited files.
The Office of the Auditor-General had made public the report of loss of about Rs. 21 billion in the state treasury from the Tax Exemption Commission in the last week of April, 2073 BS. The three officials had decided to collect only Rs 9.54 billion after calculating the tax of Rs 30.52 billion to be deposited in the state treasury. The decision of the Accountant General was a direct loss of Rs 20.98 billion to the state exchequer.
However, the authority filed a corruption case in July, 2074 BS and 2078 BS, demanding only Rs. 4.34 billion in two phases. The authority has demanded Rs 3.34 billion in the first phase and Rs 1.33 billion in the second phase against the then chairman of the tax evasion commission Lumbadhwaj Mahat, member Umesh Dhakal and director general of the Inland Revenue Department Chudamani Sharma.
In the case of tax evasion, the authority filed a case of corruption of Rs. Did the authorities look at all the files or did they find evidence of corruption?
The authorities have said that when filing a case in a special court, double the fine should be collected. It was alleged that the commission formed by the then Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat in 2071 BS by giving the right to waive the tax arrears up to the fiscal year 2069/70 was waiving the tax by violating the criteria and limits.
There is a legal provision for the constitutional body to investigate corruption in the country to maintain vigo on the basis of the loss in the state treasury. Officials of the Tax Exemption Commission have been accused of causing a loss of Rs 4.34 billion to the state exchequer. The authority said that all the investigations on the file of the tax evasion commission have been completed and now the investigation has also been completed.
In proportion, the Auditor General's Office has concluded that only 20 percent of the total amount pointed out as irregularities was corruption. The authority, which has spent nearly four and a half years investigating, has not commented publicly on the remaining amount.
Spokesperson of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Narayan Prasad Risal said that all the irregularities could not be termed as corruption as the process of investigation by the authority would be different from the calculation of irregularities and irregularities.
"The Auditor General's Office conducts audits on the basis of regularity, economy, efficiency, effectiveness and justification," Risal told Online Khabar. The authorities examine the evidence to see if there is any corruption. While investigating the functioning of the tax evasion commission, not all tax evaders were found to be corrupt. The authority has filed a case alleging corruption only for the decision that went beyond the jurisdiction assigned to the commission.
The Tax Exemption Commission had received 1,726 applications from businessmen for tax exemption. Out of them, 1,069 petitions were processed and an agreement was reached including tax exemption. However, the authorities have investigated only 121 files in two phases.
In terms of proportion, about 69 percent of revenue was lost from the state treasury due to foreclosure, while only 31 percent was earned. However, the authority has not taken any action on the 948 files decided by the Tax Exemption Commission. "I don't think I've looked at some large and important files," said a revenue expert who has worked for some time in the authority.
According to a report by the Auditor General's Office at the time, traders were legally weak in the process of paying Rs 9.54 billion in tax arrears of Rs 30.52 billion.
They did not raise any legal or administrative questions about the tax assessment. To remain silent without raising such questions is to be willing to pay taxes. The commission had exempted the businessmen who did not seek legal redressal but exploited the state treasury without paying taxes. An authority source said, "The authority did not take any action on these files saying that the work was done as per the criteria prepared by the government."
Gorkha Brewery, which has to pay VAT of Rs 401.4 million, was exempted Rs 400 million by the Tax Fraud Commission after paying Rs 1.4 million in taxes. Of that, Rs 375 million is for VAT.
The Tax Exemption Commission had deducted 90 percent of the Rs 180 million to be paid by the Phulbari Hotel in Pokhara. The Tax Exemption Commission had decided to give VAT exemption of Rs 3.93 billion to 125 large companies. According to authority sources, Bigo's money would have been much higher if all these files had been prosecuted.
They did not raise any legal or administrative questions about the tax assessment. To remain silent without raising such questions is to be willing to pay taxes. The commission had exempted the businessmen who did not seek legal redressal but exploited the state treasury without paying taxes.
Former Deputy Auditor General Sukdev Khatri, who headed the Auditor General's Office during the audit of the Tax Fraud Commission, said that it was surprising that traders should not use and measure the amount of value added tax (VAT) collected from the people. According to him, about Rs 21 billion was deducted from the tax, while Rs 11 billion was deducted from income tax, Rs 4 billion from VAT, Rs 4 billion from excise duty and various other taxes.
"We and many other countries have very strict VAT laws and regulations. The concept is that the taxes paid by the people should be immediately filed in the state treasury, 'said Khatri. He estimates that the amount of Vigo will be even higher if the authorities file a case regarding VAT.
He also said that the claim that the tax evasion commission had collected around Rs 9 billion in taxes was not realistic. He said that they had written to the Inland Revenue Department during the audit and got the answer that only around Rs 6 billion had been deposited in the state treasury.
According to Risal, the spokesperson of the authority, the authority has not brought the activities within the mandate given by the government under the scope of corruption. When asked about some companies, he said that he could not say about the company itself. However, he said that 99 percent tax was waived on the activities within the scope but no allegation of corruption was made. He said, "If the work has been done within the criteria, no matter how much tax exemption has been given, it cannot be said that there is corruption." The authorities will prosecute only on the basis of evidence.
It is seen that the authority has filed the case on the basis of 10 criteria. Cases have been filed against the tax evasion commission for tax evasion beyond its jurisdiction, review of expired files, tax deduction for those involved in fake VAT bills, tax evasion for non-demand, tax deduction for companies that have committed to pay tax, corruption in tax account exemption. Has done
The two chargesheets also said that the businessmen had also refunded the tax paid, given concessions to the traders who obstructed the tax assessment, exempted the tax from unsigned petitions and also investigated the case of tax exemption in the case which reached the Supreme Court.
