MoF has formed nine sub-committees for the formulation of necessary revenue policies that will be included in the budget. A senior official of the ministry said that the work related to the writing of the budget has intensified based on the suggestions received through the sub-committees.
A sub-committee formed under the coordination of Dirgharaj Mainali, Director General of the Inland Revenue Department, is working to formulate policies on inland revenue. A sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of Chakra Bahadur Budha, Director General of the Department of Customs to formulate a policy on customs revenue. Similarly, a sub-committee formed under the coordination of Baburam Gautam, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, is working for formulating revenue policy related to industry, trade, and investment. Likewise, a sub-committee under the coordination of Rajendra Poudel, Joint Secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), is working to formulate policies on agriculture, energy, and tourism revenue. Also, a sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of Jhak Prasad Acharya, Joint Secretary of MoF, to take suggestions from the stakeholders about the revenue policy of banks and financial institutions, insurance, cooperatives, and capital market. Meanwhile, a sub-committee formed under the coordination of Anand Kafle, Joint Secretary of MoF, is working to take suggestions on non-tax revenue policies of the government. In addition, a sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of Ishwari Prasad Aryal, Joint Secretary of MoF, for formulating policies related to intergovernmental revenue. Also, a sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of Arjun Khadka, Joint Secretary of MoF, to improve the laws related to revenue. According to the ministry officials, the revenue policy will be formulated based on the suggestions received through the sub-committees that are currently working on collecting suggestions from stakeholders. The Revenue Advisory Development Committee, which earlier used to be tasked with the formulation of revenue policies and programs, has been replaced with the Revenue Advisory Committee established under the chairmanship of the Revenue Secretary. Issuing a public notice, MoF has called for suggestions related to revenue policy to be submitted by April 3. According to the ministry sources, the budget is being prepared within the ceiling of Rs 1688 billion set by NPC for the next fiscal year. The ceiling is Rs 105.43 billion less than that of the current fiscal year. The government had earlier brought the budget of Rs 1793 billion for the current fiscal year which was trimmed by Rs 244 billion to Rs 1599 billion through the mid-term review of the budget. NPC reduced the size of the budget ceiling analyzing the contraction in government revenue, the decreasing trend of foreign grants, the possibility of pressure on loan and interest payments to international lenders due to volatility in the foreign exchange rates, and the growing burden of internal debt payments. MoF officials say that the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is being prepared considering these factors. NPC has estimated that a total of Rs 1430 billion will be collected in revenue in the next fiscal year. Similarly, the commission estimates that Rs 201 billion will be raised from foreign aid (loans and grants) and Rs 230 billion from internal loans.
