Government is serious about scaling up revenue collection: Finance Minister Mahat

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has said green signals are noticed for a vibrant economy with the new fiscal year commencing very soon. In a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives today, the Finance Minister said the economy will be grasping an upward trend, creating pressure on the government to speed up the pace for achieving the goals. "Collective efforts and commitments are needed for economic expansion," the Minister said adding that the government is serious about scaling up revenue collection and capital expenditure and discouraging general expenditure. According to Minister Sharma, the country's entire scenario is positive, but still not hassle-free. No country in the world observes a problem-free economy.  The emergence of problems is common in the economy and it demands solutions as well. "Needs and the demand-side is larger than the supplies, and dissatisfactions are usual in such situation," he said. Finance Secretary (Revenue) Ram Prasad Ghimire said the increasing responsibilities for pension, social security and remuneration posed challenges in resource management. He said the government will have to manage additional resources equivalent to around Rs 25 billion by coming July 10 for the payment towards its mandatory responsibilities in the current fiscal year. He added that the present situation of resource collection suggested the need to reduce expenditure. In the meeting, the committee members said revenue collection less than the annual target caused challenges in addressing the economic slowdown and promoting investment in the industrial sector. Highlighting the role of remittance in the national economy, they demanded the government's views about possible challenges and alternatives in case of fluctuations in the remittance inflow. They were inquisitive about the lack of allocation of the required budget for the management of chemical fertiliser, agricultural sector and strategic roads. They queried whether there were other sources for the management of forex reserve besides remittance, opining that achievement of budget goals will be difficult because of the budget scattered in small projects. By RSS READ ALSO:

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