May 18: Despite increasing cases of Covid-19 and prohibitory orders imposed to contain the spread of the disease, the government’s revenue collection has remained encouraging due to growing use of digital payment methods by taxpayers.  

The government has imposed prohibitory orders in various districts, including Kathmandu, from the second week of April following an outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19. Meanwhile, tax offices including the Inland Revenue Department had directed the taxpayers to pay the tax ignoring the requests of the private sector for an extension of the tax payment deadline.

Abiding by the tax offices’ calls to pay their tax through digital payment system, most of the taxpayers submitted their taxes on time to avoid  penalty. The government was able to collect revenue of Rs 77.12 billion in the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) alone. 

The government's revenue from taxes in the review period was Rs 72.91 billion. Out of the total amount of taxes, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) collected Rs 32.4 billion, according to the preliminary data of the department. The department had set a target of collecting Rs 33.99 billion during the review month.

According to the department, to facilitate the taxpayers during the ongoing crisis, arrangements were made to pay taxes through digital platforms such as connectIPS and eSewa.

As a result, the government was able almost to meet target of revenue collection for the month of Baisakh, informed Mukti Pandey, deputy director-general at the IRD. According to him, the department had set a target of collecting Rs 345 billion in revenue in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.

According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office (FCGO), 75 percent of the annual revenue collection target has been met as of Baisakh end (mid-May). FCGO’s Spokesperson Gyanendra Poudel said that the government's income was satisfactory amid the ongoing lockdown. He said that the effective implementation of the digital payment system has become helpful for the government in collecting revenue. 

According to Nepal Rastra Bank, the number of people making payments through digital channels like connectIPS has been on an increasing trend. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year (FY 2020/21), Rs 211 billion has been paid through connectIPS and Rs 11 billion through other e-wallets. This also shows that the government's policy of digitizing the payment system is heading towards the right direction.