KATHMANDU: The government missed collection targets under four major revenue headings value added tax (VAT), income tax , customs duty and excise duty in the first half of the fiscal year, but it was able to achieve the overall target.
VAT collection hit 97.87 percent of target, income tax collection stood at 96.27 percent, customs duty collection 99.8 percent, and excise duty 95.94 percent, according to the Finance Ministry.
Thanks to a massive surge in non- tax collections, particularly from land and property registration, the government was able to collect a total of Rs 190.52 billion in revenues, against the target of Rs 185.48 billion for the first half.
Land registration fee collection stood at Rs 4.62 billion—193 percent of the target. The overall non- tax revenue collection rose to Rs 16.12 billion—119.4 percent of the target. It is surprising to see the government missing the targets particularly under import duty and VAT as imports have increased notably in the review period.
As of the fifth month of the fiscal year, imports rose 17.8 percent to Rs 318.52 billion, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.
Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Director General Chundamani Sharma said the government missed the VAT target due to low capital expenditure.
