19th January 2025, Kathmandu
The Inland Revenue Office in Chitwan has started sending letters to taxpayers who have not paid their VAT and income taxes for a long period. The goal is to recover overdue taxes from these defaulters.
Chitwan Tax Office Crackdown Defaulters
Targeting Tax Defaulters
Chitwan has about 70,000 registered taxpayers, including 10,000 VAT filers. However, 40% have not submitted their income tax returns. The office is sending letters to those who have missed returns for over four months.
The office has also begun blocking bank accounts of long-term defaulters and starting asset seizure processes.
Investigating Property and Income
The tax office is collaborating with the Department of Land Management and Records. It is gathering property details of defaulters. The office is focusing on about 200 taxpayers who owe between NPR 10 million and NPR 140 million. These defaulters owe a total of NPR 2.47 billion.
The office is also identifying businesses that should be registered for VAT. Businesses with annual turnovers exceeding NPR 30 million for goods or services or NPR 50 million for other businesses must register for VAT.
Investigating Suspicious Businesses
The office has sent letters to 50 businesses and is reviewing 200 more. It examines three years of transactions to decide which businesses need VAT registration.
Some businesses have inflated their income. This is often for applying for study permits abroad or obtaining bank loans. To combat this, the office is inspecting the inventories of 18 selected taxpayers in Bharatpur Metropolitan City for discrepancies.
Crackdown on Illegal Activities
The District-Level Revenue Evasion Control Committee is monitoring illegal activities like the sale of illicit liquor and counterfeit excise stickers. The office has identified 15 businesses, including hospitals and educational consultants, that failed to make required advance tax payments.
Revenue Collection and Targets
By the end of Poush, the Chitwan office collected NPR 10.63 billion, which is 86.62% of its target of NPR 12 billion for the period.
The Inland Revenue Department has set a target of NPR 26.36 billion for the Chitwan office for the fiscal year. The head of the office, Punya Bikram Khadka, stated that achieving the target is possible with public cooperation.
Conclusion
The Inland Revenue Office in Chitwan aims to recover overdue taxes and enforce tax compliance. It targets both individual and business defaulters to meet revenue goals. These efforts will contribute to the district’s financial stability and overall economic growth.