LTO orders Ncell to pay remaining Rs 39.06 billion tax within seven days

KATHMANDU, April 17: Ncell has been ordered to pay the remaining capital gains tax amounting to Rs 39.06 billion including interest and fine with in seven days.

Large Taxpayers’ Office (LTO), following the Supreme Court Verdict, accessed the tax amout of Ncell buyout and ordered the company to pay the remaining tax giving a deadline of one week.

Earlier, the LTO has written to Sewdish Company TeleSonera to pay Rs 61 billion tax. TeleSonera had sold its 80 percent stake to the Malaysian Company Axiata in April 2016 and had already exited the country. However, TeleSonera had argued the deal is not taxable in Nepal. Following  which the dispute over who would pay the tax had reached the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court last week, releasing the full text, had issued the verdict asking the Ncell and Axiata to pay the CGT in early February concluding that the Swedesh company was not responsible.

A full bench of Chief Justice Cholrendra Shumsher JB Rana, and Justices Mira Khadka, Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha, Dr Anand Mohan Bhattarai and Tanka Bahadur Moktan issued mandamus that the capital gains tax must be paid by the company which is operative and owns the business.

“Section 57 (1) of the Income Tax Act-2058 makes Ncell and Axiata responsible for paying the CGT and not TeliaSonera,” the court stated.

The total payable amount has been fixed at Rs 62.63 including fines and interest while the total CGT has been fixed at Rs 35.91 billion and fine and interest at Rs 18.33 and Rs 8.39 billion respectively. The government has already paid the government a total or Rs 23.57 billion in two installments.