Lahan businessmen protest enterprise tax

Siraha, May 31 (RSS): Widespread protest has been launched against the enterprise tax being collected by Lahan Municipality from the businessmen within Lahan bazaar.

Lahan municipality has classified the business enterprises into three categories and has been collecting enterprise taxes ranging from Rs 360 to Rs 10,000 a year in accordance with clause 138 of the Local Self Governance Act-2055 B.S.

The shops of the business enterprises can be closed down if they hesitate to pay enterprise taxes, according to an official of Lahan Municipality.

Lahan Chamber of Industry and commerce has been protesting against the enterprise taxes being collected through one-sided decision of the Municipality.

Meanwhile lahan chamber of industry and commerce has, in a notice issued here, called on the businessmen not to pay enterprise taxes to Lahan Municipality.

The chamber says that all the businessmen would launch a protest programme if the municipality locked up any shop not paying enterprise tax to the Muncipality.

Reacting to the official letter received from the municipality for paying enterprise tax, proprietor of ABC network Bimal Thakur said that the enterprise tax levied by Lahan municipality should be scrapped as it was illegal.

President of Siraha District Fnj Ramannda Prasad Gupta expressed the view that it was necessary to collect enterprise tax for the development of the municipality but it should have been done by holding discussions with the chamber of industry and commerce.

The local businessmen say that the municipality had been collecting various taxes randomly in order to become financially self-reliant after His Majesty's Government stopped the municipalities from collecting Octroi.

General Secretary of the Lahan Chamber of Industry and Commerce Niran Chaudhary said that the businessmen would move ahead their protest programme if Lahan municipality did not qush it's decision to collect enterprise tax.

At present 600 businessmen are linked with Lahan Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

FNCCI BCIC discuss budget

Butwal, May 31 (RSS): An interaction programme between the office-bearers of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Butwal Chamber of Industry and commerce (BCIC) was held on the state of industry and trade and new policies and programmes needed to be included in the forthcoming budget.

Participants suggested that the FNCCI office-bearers take the initiative to establish a quarantine check post at Bhairahawa, provide sustenance to Dhaka cloth industries, accelerate export of domestic productions which has virtually come to a standstill to create an atmosphere for the usege of indigenous products.

They also drew the attention of the government towards widening the tax net instead of making changes in the existing tax rate and making special arrangements for sick industrial units.

The government should not impose impractical and unanticipated taxes on the pretext of the snap poll and political instability, they pointed out.

Third vice-president of FNCCI Chandiraj Dhakal said that the FNCCI was cautious of the financial burden likely to take place as a result of the untimely snap poll.

FNCCI central member Dinesh Shrestha, Gyanendra Kasar and Om Prakash Keshal also expressed their views at the interaction programme chaired by BCIC president Arjun Man Sainju.

Himalayan Bank to issue first evervond

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 30: Himalayan Bank Ltd. has said that it would issue Himalayan Bank Bond, 2066 worth Rs. 360 million in the third week of June to increase supplementary capital for extension of loan portfolio.

Of the given amount, Rs. 100 million will be set aside for subscription by the general public and Rs. 260 million by institutional and private investors.

The bank said that the bond would mature in seven years and would carry a coupon interest rate of 8.5 per cent per annum, payable on half-yearly basis.

"Application will be accepted minimum of Rs. 25,000 and up to a maximum of Rs. 2 million from the general public. There will be no maximum limit for institutional and private investors," the bank said in a press release. It said the bond would be listed in Nepal stock Exchange. The buyers could get loans from other banks against the security of the bond.

HBL Bond will be the first financial instrument to be issued by a commercial bank in Nepalese banking history. "The bank anticipates positive response from the investors, as investment in it will be safe with an attractive rate of return," read the press release.

The bank has appointed Nepal Merchant Bank and Finance Ltd. as the issue manager of the bond.

Construction activities

Ramechhap, May 31 (RSS): A nine kilometre road linking ward no. 2 of Manthali VDC with Solu Bazaar via Sunarpani VDC has been built recently.

The road was built at a cost of Rs 2,266,000 including Rs. 1,522,000 provided by Solu and Sunarpani VDCS and voluntary labour worth Rs 744,000 contributed by the people.

Construction of the road has helped the people in transporting their products to the market.

On completion of the road, the people of Sunarpani, Solu, Deurali, Goathgaun, Heemganga, Okheni and Sanghutaar VDCS of Ramechhap district and about five VDCS of Okhaldhunga district will benefit, according to DDC vice chairman Ramesh Kumar Basnet.

In Parbat, construction of a four-room concrete building of Patichaur fresh vegetable production and marketing co-operatives has been completed recently.

Apart from voluntary contribution equivalent to Rs. 312,000 made by the local people, Dhaulagiri community resource development centre had provided Rs. 150,000 and parbat ddc rs. 50,000 for the construction of the building.

The centre has been assisting some 150 local farmers in procuring seeds and pesticides at a 25 percent Subsidised rate.

It is also contemplating to procure a truck in partnership with another co-operatives to transport locally produced vegetables to the markets, secretary of the building construction committee Tej Bahadur Chhetri said.

And in Gorkha, a four-room building of Chandrodaya primary school at Manchu VDC has been re-constructed at a cost of rs. 60,000.

The building was rendered useless following the Maoists' attack last year.

Gorkha district education office had provided Rs. 45,000 through earthquake victim releif fund and local people Volunatary labour equivalent to Rs. 15,000 for the re-construction of the building, according to officiating headmaster of the school Bak Bahadur Lama.