KHATMANDU: Telia Company has commented on an edition of investigative TV programme ‘Uppdrag Granskning’ due to air on 08 February concerning the sale of its stake in Ncell to Axiata of Malaysia in April 2016. It said it is confident that it was right to pay tax on the deal in Norway, where the Telia subsidiary selling the company was based, as Norway has a double taxation deal with Nepal.
Nepalese civil servants and politicians have told ‘Uppdrag Granskning’ that Telia Company should pay tax in Nepal for the sale of Ncell. CEO Johan Dennelind said Telia was asked by the local tax authorities in April 2016 to provide them with a tax declaration. It immediately replied that it did not believe that it was under any obligation to do so. It has not heard from the tax authorities since, he added.
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He told ‘Uppdrag Granskning’ that if it were to pay taxes that lack legal support, it would be acting irresponsibly. He added that the overall financial result of Telia Company’s investment in Nepal is likely to be a loss. However, it estimates that Telia has contributed 1-2 percent of the country’s GDP. He would not comment on the possibility that Telia could face a potential tax claim of SEK 4 billion.
During Telia’s years as majority shareholder, Ncell invested more than SEK 7 billion in network and infrastructure extensions and paid approximately SEK 3 billion in corporate taxes, Telia said. Telia Company has met all the tax requirements on the Nepalese operation from 2008-2016, and in relation to the sale of the subsidiary in 2016, it added.
Dennelind added that corruption is a problem in Nepal, and the country it at place 130 on Transparency International’s corruption index. For this reason, it had a programme for ethics and compliance in place in Nepal, and Telia is confident in the assessment that it has made together with international and local experts.
