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With Nepal no longer buying vaccines for Covid-19, Nepal’s imports of pharmaceutical products have sharply decreased in the current fiscal year. According to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC), the import of pharmaceutical products declined by 48.1 percent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. TEPC data shows Nepal imported pharmaceutical products worth Rs 25.29bn during the first seven months of FY 2022/23 compared to Rs 38.75bn during the same period of FY 2021/22. “One of the major reasons behind the decline in pharmaceutical products appears to be a decrease in import of vaccines in the current fiscal year,” said a senior official of the Department of Customs. “But we have to see the statistics to confirm if it is the only reason.” In the last fiscal year, Nepal’s major focus was on vaccinating the population against Covid-19. Nepal was importing vaccines either by purchasing or receiving them under grants from various countries or international agencies. Now, the country's majority of the population has been fully vaccinated and Covid-19 cases also appear in insignificant numbers, Covid vaccines are not being brought into the country. This has brought down the total imports of pharmaceuticals. In the last fiscal year, Nepal imported pharmaceutical products worth Rs 71.93 billion, a rise of 97.78 percent from Rs 36.37bn in the previous fiscal 2020/21. “Nepal has been receiving the Covid-19 vaccines free of cost under the COVAX,” said a senior official of the Department of Health Service. COVAX is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Nepal spent a lot of money purchasing vaccines last fiscal year 2021/22. But, the value of vaccines that are received in grants is included in the accounting of imports, according to customs officials. With the Covid-19 pandemic no longer considered a major public health threat at the moment, government spending on controlling the pandemic has slumped this fiscal year. On Wednesday, Nepal reported a single Covid case and only four active cases. However, an official of the Department of Health Services said that along with the decline in Covid-19 cases, Nepal’s spending on prevention, control, and treatment of the pandemic has also declined sharply. During the first six months of the current fiscal year, the government spent Rs700,000 for the purpose, according to the mid-term review of the budget for FY 2022/23. The government has allocated Rs 15.47bn for the purpose in the current fiscal year 2022/23. “Even though there has not been fresh spending from the dedicated budget for Covid-19, many activities are underway against Covid-19 through the regular health budget too,”  a senior official of the Department of Health Services. “Nevertheless, low spending of dedicated budget shows that Covid-19 is more or less under control. But it has not been eliminated yet.” Meanwhile, the import of medical equipment has also decreased during the first half of the current fiscal year. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank statistics, the import of medical equipment from China has decreased by 2.2 percent to Rs 2.74bn and imports from the third countries decreased by 27 percent to Rs 4bn.  

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has started a study after it was found that the number of taxpayers filing income details has declined in the fiscal year 2021/22 compared to FY 2020/21. According to IRD, the number of taxpayers filing their income details has decreased significantly in FY 2021/22. The income statement for each fiscal year should be filed in the tax office within three months ( by mid-October) of the end of the fiscal year. According to IRD sources, taxpayers have not submitted their details even after the extension of the deadline i.e., mid-January, 2023. Tax officials say they are looking into the matter seriously, especially after the income tax collection remained lower than the target. IRD had targeted to collect income tax worth Rs 157bn in the first half of the current fiscal year. However, it succeeded in collecting only 74.30 percent of the target i.e. Rs 116.79bn during this period. As the income tax collection declined, the department suspects that taxpayers are not filing statements. The initial assessment of the department also showed some taxpayers did not file income statements. According to the department, taxpayers are still filing their VAT returns with the tax office but the income statement and tax have not been filed so far. Raju Pyakurel, information officer of IRD said the department is collecting detailed information. "After the tax collection remained lower than the target, we did a preliminary study about it. While taxpayers were doing business, it was seen that income statements and tax details were not filed," he said, "Hence, we have initiated further study." The department has recently issued a notice requesting such taxpayers to file their income statements and tax as soon as possible. The department has warned that if income tax statements are not filed, taxpayers will be investigated and action will be taken according to the prevailing law. Dirgharaj Mainali, director general of IRD, said that a notice has been issued to taxpayers requesting them to file income statements and taxes. "Taxpayers used to delay in filing the details even earlier. This time also, some taxpayers have not filed income statements," he said, " This is in the interest of businessmen. Because, the more they delay in filing statements, the more fine they will have to pay." According to Mainali, the department has also requested the private sector organizations for facilitation. "We have requested the FNCCI and other business organizations to facilitate and they are positive about it," he said, "We will also formally and informally urge the concerned businessmen through tax offices." The department officials say the decline in tax filing could be due to the slowdown in economic activities. As businesses grapple with multiple issues ranging from decreased demand to higher interest rates, and price rises, the cash flow in the market has declined. A senior official of the department said that the number of taxpayers filing statements may have decreased due to these reasons. "Taxpayers may also be thinking that they would pay the tax amount later." Taxpayers can submit only the income statement for now. There is also the facility of paying taxes in installments," said the official.  

The price of gold has increased by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 101, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 101, 000 per tola on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 101, 300 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,220 per tola today.

In what could be termed an eventful year for the domestic power sector, a total of 351.24 MW of electricity has been connected to the national grid in the current fiscal year. With electricity generated from 20 power projects being connected to the national transmission system, the total installed capacity in the country has reached 2,619.24 MW by the first week of March 2023. The fiscal year 2022/23 saw Nepal's largest private sector-developed project Solukhola (Dudhkoshi) Hydroelectric Project starting its commercial operation. The Solukhola (Dudhkoshi) Project is the country's largest power project developed by the private sector to date. Developed by Sahas Urja Limited, the 86 MW Solukhola Project began commercial operation on March 1. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai said that the number of projects to be connected to the national system has been increasing in recent times. NEA has projected an additional 811 MW of electricity will be added to the national grid in the current fiscal year. The state-owned power utility expects the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi, 57.3 MW Sanjen and Upper Sanjen, 102 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi, and 54 MW Super Dordi to come online by the end of this fiscal year. With the start of commercial operation, the Solukhola (Dhudkoshi) is the third largest hydroelectric project currently in operation in Nepal. The largest hydropower project in operation in Nepal is Upper Tamakoshi with an installed capacity of 456 MW. The second largest project, Kaligandaki Hydropower A, has a capacity of 144 MW. However, both are government-owned projects. Sahas Energy Limited received a license to develop Solukhola (Dhudkoshi) from the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) on September 17, 2014 and started construction of the run-of-river project in February 2018. The total cost of the project was Rs 11.86 billion. A consortium of 10 banks and financial institutions headed by the Nepal Investment Bank (now Nepal Investment Mega Bank) disbursed loans amounting to Rs 8.65 billion to the project. The company's promoters' equity was Rs 2.45 billion while Rs 1.05 billion was raised from the capital market. The commencement of commercial operation of Solukhola (Dudhkoshi) has been termed a milestone by the independent power producers. Krishna Prasad Acharya, Chairman of the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN), said that the construction of the 86 MW project by the private sector is a significant achievement. "At a time when the private sector was struggling to develop a 5-10 MW project, Sahas Urja attempted a big hydroelectric project which has now started commercial production," said Acharya, adding, "The private sector's contribution to electricity generation in Nepal is significant. Therefore, the government needs to further support the private sector." Him Prasad Pathak, President of Sahas Urja said that the project has been brought to completion overcoming many challenges. "We succeeded in bringing the project into commercial operation despite challenges. This has encouraged us to develop large projects up to 500 MW with domestic investments in the future," he said. Power Project connected to national grid in this fiscal

Project	Developer	Capacity
Simara Solar Project	Api Power Company	1 MW
Grid Connected Solar PV Project	National Solar Power Co. Pvt. Ltd	5 MW
Dordi Khola HEP	Himalayan Power Partner  Pvt. Ltd	27 MW
Chepe Khola Small	Aashutosh Energy Pvt. Ltd	8.63 MW
Dordi-1 Khola	Dordi Khola Jal Bidhyut Company	12 MW
Upper Balefi A	Balefi Hydropower Company	36 MW
Lower Likhu	Swetganga Hydropower and Construction Ltd	28.1 MW
Dordi-A	Liberty Energy	25 MW
Mayakhola	Mayakhola Hydropower Company	14.9 MW
Solu Dudhkoshi	Sahas Urja Ltd	86 MW
Saiti Khola	Saidi Power	0.99 MW
Som Radhakrishna Solar Farm	Nepal Solar Farm	4 MW
Puwa-2	Peoples Power	4.96 MW
Middle Modi	Middle Modi Hydropower	15.1 MW
Mid Solu Khola	Mid Solu Hydropower	9.5 MW
Kalangagad	Kalanga Hydro Pvt. Ltd	15.33 MW
Upper Kalangagad	Sanigad Hydro	38.46 MW
Upper Machhakhola	Bikas Hydropower Company	4.55 MW
Upper Piluwakhola	Menchhiyam Hydropower	4.72 MW
Makarigad	Makarigad Hydropower	10 MW
Total		351.24 MW

  DOED issues construction licenses to 17 projects The Department of Electricity Development (DoED) has issued construction licenses to 17 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 519.24 MW till mid-February 2023. Similarly, DOED has issued survey licenses to 14 hydropower companies with a combined capacity of 1,412.07 MW in the current fiscal year. The department has also issued survey licenses to 12 companies that have proposed to generate 236.9 MW of solar electricity.