Govt rejects request to extend royalty repayment deadline
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, JAN 10 -
The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) on Sunday turned down casino operators’ request to extend the royalty payment deadline. The operators had also demanded that they be allowed to repay in installments.
Casino operators had put up the demand after the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) On Dec. 29, 2010 issued directives to the government to scrap the licences of casinos failing to clear their dues within 35 days.
Pressure further mounted on casinos after Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said at a PAC meeting that the country does not require casinos as they do not pay royalty to the government, rent to the hotels and salary to their workers.
As per the PAC directives, The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) on Jan. 8 issued a public notice to Casino Anna, Casino Nepal, Casino Shangri La, Casino Tara, Casino Royale, Casino Venus, Casino Radd, Casino Fulbari and Casino Grand to repay their royalty dues within 35 days.
A meeting between the tourism ministry, DRI, Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Customs Department and casino operators on Sunday decided not to consider the casinos’ request, but follow the PAC directive strictly.
According to a DRI official, representatives of casinos operators, who were present on Sunday’s meeting, requested the ministry to extend the repayment deadline and allow them to repay on installment basis. In response, the ministry said the request could not be considered and they have to repay their outstanding dues within the given timeline or close operations.
“We (the ministry) cannot ignore the PAC decision,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, the tourism ministry spokesperson.
In the meeting, the ministry also endorsed a decision to scrap the licences of the casinos allowing entrance to Nepalis. The PAC had also instructed the government to scrap the licences of those casinos allowing in Nepalis. “Apart from recovering royalties and restricting entrance to Nepalis, the tourism ministry will also regularly monitor casinos,”
said Bhattarai.
The ministry has started preparing directives for casinos, which would be finalised within a couple of months.
The PAC had instructed the government to draft a regulatory framework
and guidelines for the operation of casinos. “After preparing the directives, all stakeholders related to casinos will be invited for a broad consultation. The Cabinet will then endorse the guidelines,” said Bhattarai.
The government has been on a mission to recover royalty dues from the casinos for the last three months. Only a few casinos have made partial payments. Casinos under the Nepal Recreation Centre owned by Rakesh Wadhwa have not made any payment. Wadhwa has been absconding ever since the police issued an arrest warrant against him.
The government has entrusted the DRI with the responsibility of recovering dues from casinos. Casinos so far have paid around Rs 30 million in dues. However, they still owe Rs 193 million.
Of late, the government has been making efforts to recover the casino dues, with police conducting raids and revenue administration authorities summoning casino operators.
