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Kathmandu, Nepal December 19, 2020: The Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country has ordered the government to appear before the court for discussion on rationality of the government's latest decision to revoke the tariff imposed earlier in the imported books and news papers of the foreign publications.
Responding to the writ petition filed by the Federation of Nepal Printers’ Associations (FNPA), the umbrella organization of the Nepalese printers, a single bench of SC justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana made the order on Friday.
Advocate Yub Raj Shrestha, who is also the General Secretary of the FNPA, had moved to the SC demanding stay order against of the government’s decision. A cabinet meeting held on November 9, 2020, had made the controversial decision to revoke 10 percent customs duty on the imported books and news papers of the foreign publications.
The government had enforced the provision in its budget for the fiscal year 2019/20 following the footsteps of then finance minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat. Dr. Mahat Had made the provision to impose 10 percent custom duties in the imported printing materials in the fiscal budget for the year 1997-98.
Likewise, then finance minister Madhukar Rana had also imposed 15 percent custom duties in the budget for the fiscal year 2005-06. But the decision to impose custom duties in the printing materials has repeatedly been revoking due to pressure from various quarters.
As government has been imposing more than 28 percent tax that includes customs duty of 15 percent and 13 percent value added tax in the import of printing related raw materials including papers, complete waiving taxes in the imported printing materials has adversely affected not only the business of the Nepalese printing industries but hit hard the government revenue as well, the FNPA has stated in the petition.
