Kathmandu. Former Chief Secretary to the Government of Nepal. Kathmandu: Baikuntha Aryal has said that the budget presented by the government for the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83 BS is positive for the private sector. Commenting on the budget organized by the Economic Media Society (IMSON) to discuss the budget for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS, he said that the government has mentioned the private sector as a carrier in the annual budget.
According to him, the government’s initiative in reforming the laws demanded by the private sector for a long time and the policies taken regarding investment are private sector friendly and positive.
Dr. According to Aryal, uninterrupted power supply to industries, facilitation in project management, facility of rescheduling of loans, urban development, participation of private sector in infrastructure construction, chemical fertilizers, waste treatment plants and participation of private sector in operation have been included in the budget to attract the private sector. “Expanding private sector lending and utilizing sovereign credit rating and facilitating the private sector in this regard has addressed the demands of the private sector,” he said.
Dr. Aryal said it was a good thing that the budget was trying to improve the expenditure. “The budget seeks to improve project management. The number of federal projects has been reduced. There are 4,654 projects less than the current fiscal year, which is a positive aspect of the budget,” he said.
Aryal stressed the need to increase the capacity of the government structure, increase the number of skilled manpower and facilitate the private sector to work for the implementation of the budget. “Concrete measures should be adopted for the operation and management of sick industries in the government as well as the private sector for the implementation of the budget,” he said.
According to him, it is necessary to start the procurement process before the beginning of the fiscal year, tighten the design, specification and cost estimate, hold the officials accountable for not taking decisions on time, and fully implement the announcement that there will be no shortage of resources in the projects where the progress has exceeded 80 percent.
Stating that the budget has focused on production, he said that the establishment of agricultural land bank, risk management, efforts to minimize land damage, and having stakeholders regarding investment opportunities through farmer profiling system are good. He also said that 75 percent discount on special economic zone rent and 50 percent discount on industrial sector rent, provision of incubation center and start-up are also good aspects of the budget. He, however, said the budget did not say anything about the private sector lending industry.
He said that if more than 30 percent of the production of the industrial sector is exported, facilities like special economic zone, provision of bonded warehouse for export of gold and silver jewelry, and the jewelry exporter who receives advance payment of 50 percent of the export amount will be able to buy gold and silver equal to the same amount.
“It is good that the budget is trying to be cautious in the new program, efforts have been made to complete the projects in order, new methods have been adopted to promote investment and efforts are being made to encourage exports,” he said.
He also said that the policy of stopping the grant of those who do not implement the academic calendar for the improvement of the university is also good. He also said that the provision of free visa to foreign students, restructuring of health insurance program, integration of social health security program, announcement to provide willing charge if the industry itself builds distribution line is also positive for the private sector.
He said that the problems of many savers would be solved by the provision of return of savings of cooperatives and protection of savings up to Rs 500,000.
Stating that the budget has exercised restraint in revenue, he said the scope and rate of health risk tax has been expanded and the removal of digital payment tax is also a positive aspect of the budget. “Startups have been given tax concessions, income tax exemption has been given for assembling electric vehicles and construction of charging stations, exemption in customs duty on green hydrogen and organic fertilizers will make it easier to keep the economy running,” he said.
Apart from this, issues such as single point service have been mentioned in the budget, provisions have been made to facilitate foreign investment, provision has been made to invest abroad and emphasis has been laid on trade facilitation. He stressed the need for early implementation of the legal reforms for the implementation of the budget, amendment in the rules and guidelines of some legal amendments made through the ordinance, amendment in the working procedures, legal provisions to resolve the issues related to forest, environment, land acquisition and local obstacles.
Stating that some projects initiated by the private sector were not getting some services to be received from the government or in that name, he said that the budget has made some efforts to reduce the cost of production of goods and services. However, the cost of industrial production is still high, he said, adding that this would not make Nepali products price competitive.
“The cost of industrial production can be reduced by revising the electricity tariff, investment expansion and return assurance are always in trouble due to lack of policy continuity,” he said, adding, “It is necessary to move to the concept of take-or-pay, take-and-pay in the hydropower sector.” ”
Although the budget figures are important, the policies taken by it will have a greater impact on the dynamics of the economy, he said. “The policies taken for investment are positive and the policy of streamlining the management of government projects will have a positive impact on the economy,” he said. ”
