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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 173, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 173, 500 per tola on Monday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 980 per tola today.

The government has added 433,703 taxpayers over the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2024-25. In the same period of the previous year, the number of taxpayers had increased by 426,330.

According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the total number of taxpayers reached 6,659,836 by mid-February of the current fiscal year. This represents a 6.97 percent increase in the number of PAN holders over the eight-month period. The total number of taxpayers stood at 6,226,133 in mid-February of 2024.

However, while the number of taxpayers has grown, revenue collection has not increased proportionally. This is largely because the majority of new registrations are for individual Permanent Account Numbers (PAN), which contribute less to revenue compared to business entities.

According to the IRD, individual taxpayers account for 69.3 percent, or 4,612,406, of the total taxpayers. Business PAN holders account for 30.2 percent, or 2,012,586, of the total taxpayers. The remaining 34,844 PANs, or 0.5 percent of the total taxpayers, have been issued to tax-exempt entities.

Total revenue collection has reached Rs 739bn as of March 24. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office (FCGO), tax revenue accounts for about 80 percent of the total revenue. The government has mobilized Rs 656.39bn in tax revenue, Rs 82.83bn in non-tax revenue, and Rs 9.20bn in grants as of March 24.

With less than four months remaining in the current fiscal year, the government has reached the halfway point in revenue mobilization. Total revenue mobilization stands at 52.08 percent of the
Rs 1,419.30bn target for the current fiscal year. Progress in tax and non-tax revenue collection stands at 51.11 percent and 61.32 percent, respectively.

Nepal’s revenue-to-GDP ratio, which was 9 percent in 1989-90, increased to 21.6 percent in 2021-22, only to decline to 17.8 percent in 2022-23. Similarly, the tax revenue-to-GDP ratio, which was seven percent in 1989-90, improved to 20 percent by 2021/22 but dropped to 16.1 percent in 2022-23, marking a 4 percent decline.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 30.52 points to close at 2,645.20 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 4.76 points to close at 440. 34 points.

A total of 9,739,738-unit shares of 326 companies were traded for Rs 4. 48 billion.

Meanwhile, Guardian Micro Life Insurance Limited (GMLI) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 29 percent.

Likewise, Upper Hewakhola Hydropower Company Limited (UHEWA) was the top loser as its price fell by 4. 92 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 38 trillion.

Petroleum products worth Rs 122.2 billion have been imported through Birgunj border transit point in the last eight months of the current fiscal year, 2024/25.

The imported petroleum products include diesel, petrol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and kerosene.

Petroleum products worth Rs 1.67 billion more were imported in the eight months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period previous fiscal year, 2023/24. Petroleum products worth Rs 120.53 billion were imported in the eight months of the last fiscal year.

Deepak Lamichhane, chief customs administrator at Birgunj Customs Office, said revenue from import of petroleum products has also increased along with the imports in the current fiscal year.

"The import of petroleum products seems to have increased as it is the time for infrastructure construction," he said.

According to the Office, Rs 50.13 billion revenue has been collected from the import of all types of petroleum products in the eight months of the current fiscal year.

Revenue of Rs 44.80 billion was collected in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Chief Customs Administrator Lamichhane said Rs 27.31 billion revenue was collected from the import of 685,991 kiloliters of diesel worth Rs 61.45 billion in the eight months of the current fiscal year.

Similarly, 290,382 kiloliters of petrol worth Rs 25.30 billion was imported in the eight months of the current fiscal year, resulting in the collection of Rs 16.48 billion in revenue.

A total of 210. 42 million kilograms of LPG worth Rs 24.05 billion has been imported in the eight months of the current fiscal year. A total of Rs 4.5 billion revenue has been collected from this.

In the eight months of the last fiscal year, 186.812 million kilograms of LPG worth Rs 19.52 billion was imported, the Office said.