Kathmandu June 16

The Supreme Court has issued an order to annul the application filed by the government seeking to vacate the apex court’s interim order calling on the government to make arrangements for paying tax within 30 days of the easing of the lockdown. A joint bench comprising Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana issued this order on Monday.

The Office of the Attorney General had filed the vacate application last Friday. Joint Attorney Sanjiv Raj Regmi said the vacate application had pleaded for allowing the online payment of tax until the month of Chait (March 14 to April 12), arguing that revenue was the main source of income for the government and as all works including the salary of employees would be halted if revenue was not collected.

With this latest order by the Supreme Court regarding the 30 days deadline for payment of tax, the earlier stay order issued by the division bench of Justices Anil Kumar Sinha and Manoj Kumar Sharma to the government to give the tax payers 30 days for submission of related tax details and payment of tax will hold.

The Inland Revenue Department had, through a notice it issued on June 2, asked the tax-payers to pay tax within June 7. However, this notice met with fierce opposition from the industrialists and business community citing the closure of industries, trade and businesses due to the lockdown. After this protest, the government had extended the tax paying deadline to June 21.