Govt committed to controlling revenue leakage: Finance Minister

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has said that the revenue leakage should be stopped at any cost. Addressing a meeting of the Central Revenue Leakage Control Committee on Tuesday through a virtual medium, he stressed the need to take immediate steps to control revenue leakage. "Revenue is the blood and sweat of the nation. We cannot just sit and watch. So, the work of controlling it should start from today. He also said that the Ministry of Finance will not spare any effort to allocate the necessary budget and other arrangements for this. Stating that an 'operation' is needed to control revenue leakage, he opined that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police administration should give priority to the action against revenue leakage. He also said that a special team or task force will be formed for the operation. Along with this, policy reforms should also be taken, Minister Sharma added. The policy changes and reforms will be made at the ministerial level as much as possible. The Finance Minister pointed out that some revenue leakages were taking place due to a lack of awareness among people. So, it is necessary to spread awareness message, he said. He was of the view that the leakage could be controlled by 80 to 90% if the entire body, general public and all stakeholders work together against the revenue leakage. He also said that the revenue leakage could be reduced by arranging training for the police and staff at the border checkpoints and developing infrastructure and technology at a fast pace. The recent incidence of revenue leakage through digital technology has also increased, Minister Sharma said. "Cryptocurrency, digital casinos, digital networking and other illegal activities are taking place. At the same time, there has been a tendency to misrepresent income and expenditure, misinterpret the law, use fake invoices and excise stickers, and smuggle goods by keeping a warehouse near the customs point," Minister Sharma added. Similarly, revenue leakage from customs has been increasing with the smuggling of gold, silver, electrical appliances, livestock and household goods. READ ALSO:

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