Ncell has deposited Rs 4.5 billion as Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the Large Tax Payers’ Office (LTPO) in Kathmandu.
This comes a month after the Supreme Court released the full text of its decision on the Ncell tax issue, in response to a writ filed by the telecom company earlier in April this year.
The order stated that the company needs to pay only Rs 21.10 billion CGT against the Rs39.06 billion previously determined by the tax officials.
LTPO on April 16 said that the combined tax liability of Ncell and its parent company, Axiata, was Rs 62.63 billion, including interest and fees based on the Income Tax Act.
As Ncell had already paid Rs 23.57 billion CGT, the office ordered it to deposit the remaining Rs39.06 billion within a week. But Ncell went to court on April 22challenging the order. It claimed that its CGT liability from the three-year-old Ncell buyout deal stood at Rs 14.36 billion and not Rs 39.06 billion, as it had already deposited R s23.57 billion.
Following the petition, the Supreme Court in August annulled the tax liability determined by LTPO, stating that additional fees, imposed as per the Income Tax Act, should not be added to Ncell’s total tax liability.
Following the Supreme Court’s release of the full text of the judgment, the LTPO had asked Ncell to submit Rs 21.10 billion within 15 days.
According to sources, Ncell paid only Rs 4.5 billion as ‘first installment’. Authorities are yet to decide whether to accept the installment or not.
