Laxman Aryal, joint-secretary at the IRD told Republica, said the firms have been slapped with VAT of Rs 1.91 billion, income tax of Rs 1.5 billion and excise duty of Rs 23.8 million.[break]
IRD has been looking into 518 cases of revenue evasion, which is expected to be in tune of Rs 10 billion, by using fake VAT bills.
“Out of the total of Rs 3.45 billion slapped on tax evaders so far, around half a dozen firms have paid tax worth Rs 61.9 million,” Aryal said.
Meanwhile, firms associated with 65 cases of tax evasion have applied for administrative review at IRD.
As per the existing provision, firms that are not satisfied with the tax amount slapped on them can ask for administrative review within 60 days of the determination of fine. Director general of IRD must complete review within 60 days of the registration of application for review.
“We have also collected Rs 666.8 million from the firms seeking administrative review as deposits,” added Aryal.
If the firms are not satisfied with tax slapped by the department even after the administrative review, they can appeal against the decision at the Revenue Tribunal within 60 days
The department has been looking into fake VAT bill racket through its head office and three area offices in Kathmandu as well as offices in Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Dharan, Birgunj, Hetauda, Bharatpur, Bhairahawa, Lalitpur, Nepalgunj, Bhaktapur, Krishnanagar, Butwal, Pokhara, Simra, Janakpur, Lahan, Dhangadhi, Mahendranagar and Dang.
According to IRD, Large Taxpayers Office (LTO), Lalitpur has still to settle 105 of the 153 cases assigned to it.
Similarly, IRD´s Area Office No.1 is still to settle 11 cases.
“We are preparing to complete investigation into the racket by mid-Nov if things go as planned,” said Aryal.
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