January 11: The government has indicated that it would not extend the deadline for submission of income tax details despite request from the private sector citing the coronavirus pandemic.

Private sector stakeholders including the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) had requested the government to extend the deadline for submission of income tax details stating that it would be difficult for them to do so within the deadline of January 13. However the government has shown little interest toward the request made by the private sector.

The Inland Revenue Department informed that the Ministry of Finance has not taken any decision regarding deadline extension and therefore it his unlikely that the demands of the private sector will be addressed.

According to the Deputy Director General of the IRD, the revenue collection in the current fiscal year stands at only Rs 8 billion so far. Pandey informed that there isn’t any difference in the number of individuals submitting details this year compared to last fiscal year.

“Demanding deadline extension is understandable. But the industries and entrepreneurs have been submitting income details despite their demand,” said Pandey.

A high-ranking official at the Revenue Department of Finance Ministry informed that the ministry has not discussed the issue of deadline extension.

“Now, the excuse of coronavirus is no longer relevant. There isn’t any preparation to extend the deadline,” said the official requesting anonymity.

Officials at the ministry say that the anyone who doesn’t submit the income details within the given deadline will have to pay fine.

The government has also denied deadline extension for company registration. The officials have urged one and all not to make any further delay in fulfilling their obligations.

There is a provision for industries and entrepreneurs to submit the income details within mid-October before they pay their income tax of previous fiscal year. If the miss the initial deadline, they can submit it within mid-January after taking permission from the concerned government office. However, the private sector has been arguing that they have not been able to prepare their audit report because most of the auditors are unavailable due to Covid-19 infection.

CNI Chairman Satish Kumar More said that they have requested the government to extend the deadline for submission of income details as they are unable to complete their internal audit. He added that they had requested for additional time as some industries are on the verge of closure due to coronavirus.

“In the past, industries and entrepreneurs had been  submitting the income details on time. But the system has been badly affected by coronavirus and therefore we have demanded more time,” he said.

The government had asked the private sector to deposit tax time and again even during the lockdown period in last fiscal year. But the government later extended the time following heavy criticism from all quarters.