NCELL evading billions in taxes do not spare them: Dev Gurung

Reporters Club: Leader of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal and former Law Minister Dev Gurung has said that the decision of the Supreme Court was faulty, letting the company amass profits. He said nearly NCELL has escaped of paying 62 billion rupees in taxes and in the current situation it may reach up to 1 trillion rupees, and hence the Supreme Court should mend its decision. NCELL is a sizeable Telecomm giant in the Nepalese sector.

Talking to journalist Rishi Dhamala in Prime Times, Gurung said Ncell should not be spared and made to pay taxes that are due to the government. The Supreme Court’s decision comes against the order of Justice Cholendra Sumsher Rana who had asked NCELL to pay its dues to the government. This has enabled the telecom giant in the Nepalese industry to save billions of rupees.

Supreme Court Justice bench Tej Bahadur Kc, Purshottom Bhandari, Dambar Bahadur Shahi, Sushma Mathema, and Manoj Kumar Sharma had favored NCELL on a decision given on the 26th of August.

Prior to this Justice Cholendra Sumsher Rana had ruled that NCELL required to pay taxes on its number of shares that it had bought and the profit made out of the transaction. It had also made it clear not to pay dividends or bonuses until the tax assessment was not clear and pending.

NCELL had approached the Supreme Court for not having to pay 62 billion and 63 million in taxes, while the company counters they have to pay about 14 billion.

Mr. Dev Gurung who is also a former law minister stated that the current judgment regarding NCELL is faulty and needs immediate rectification. He also said that there is no reason to be at loggerheads with one another within the same institution by giving two opposite judgments. He is of the strong opinion that NCELL needs to pay its taxes due to the government if it has to remain in operation in Nepal.