Nepal Government Accelerates Tax Service Expansion to Enhance Citizen Convenience

Kathmandu. The government has intensified the expansion of tax services for the convenience of taxpayers. Following the approval of a new organizational structure proposal under the Ministry of Finance, 36 Inland Revenue offices were dissolved. These offices were merged and service delivery was initiated through local levels.

Arrangements have been made for services such as the issuance of Permanent Account Number (PAN) certificates, which were previously processed by taxpayer service offices, to now be provided by the respective local bodies. 

In this regard, the Ministry of Finance has informed that taxpayer services have so far commenced through 34 Treasury and Comptroller Offices (Kolenika) and 22 local levels (municipalities) across the country. 

Finance Minister Rameshwore Khanal stated that this service expansion has brought significant relief, especially to citizens in remote areas. 

He shared this information via social media. Finance Minister Khanal mentioned that the compulsion for residents of remote rural municipalities, such as Chumanubri in Gorkha and Khumbu-Pasanglhamu in Solukhumbu, to travel to district headquarters or distant cities just to pay taxes has ended. According to him, locals there can now easily fulfill their tax obligations from their own villages. 

Finance Minister Khanal stated, “Immediately after the current government was formed, the process of enabling citizens to pay revenue even at the ward level was initiated. The government's goal is to bring government services to the doorsteps of the citizens. In line with this, revenue collection has started at the ward level, and this service is now operational through 56 different centers.” 

The government plans to make the revenue collection process more technology-friendly and decentralized. It is believed that this will save taxpayers' time and expenses, and also increase the effectiveness of state revenue collection. The government has set a target to expand this service to even more local levels in the coming days.