Taxpayer Services Expanded to 34 Local Levels in Madhesh Province

Janakpurdham. Taxpayer services have been expanded to 34 local levels in Madhesh Province. The 'Taxpayer Service from Local Level' concept, put forward by the federal government with the objective of providing easy, fast, and accessible services to citizens, is now beginning to take practical shape.

Although a decade has passed since the implementation of federalism in Nepal, many public services are still being operated from a centralized structure. Tax administration was one of them. Service recipients had to travel for hours for various processes related to PAN registration, PAN transformation, income tax registration, and excise duty. This was not only cumbersome but also expensive, especially for citizens in rural areas and small businesses. Its effective implementation is now being seen in Madhesh Province.

With the start of taxpayer services in 34 local levels of Madhesh Province, the compulsion for citizens to go to district headquarters or internal revenue offices for tax-related work is decreasing. The start of services in 34 local levels of Saptari, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara is an example of this. Internal Revenue Offices have stated that out of the 136 local levels in the eight districts of Madhesh Province, taxpayer services have currently started in 34 local levels of Saptari, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara.

According to Amit Poudel, chief of the Internal Revenue Office, Lahan, Siraha, taxpayer services have already started in all 18 local levels of Saptari. Chief Poudel stated that taxpayer services have started in Rajbiraj Municipality, Saptakoshi Municipality, Kanchanrup Municipality, Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality, Shambhunath Municipality, Khadak Municipality, Bode Barsain Municipality, Dakneshwori Municipality, Surunga Municipality, Agnisair Krishna Savaran Rural Municipality, Tirhut Rural Municipality, Mahadeva Rural Municipality, Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality, Rajgadh Rural Municipality, Bishnupur Rural Municipality, Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality, Balan Bihul Rural Municipality, and Rupni Rural Municipality of Saptari. However, taxpayer services have not yet started in any local level in Siraha.

The Internal Revenue Office, Lahan, and the Treasury and Comptroller Office located in the district headquarters of Siraha have been providing taxpayer services in Siraha district. Similarly, Anand Kumar Gupta, chief of the Internal Revenue Office, Janakpurdham, said that Mithila Municipality and Shreeshawnath Municipality in Dhanusha have also been operating taxpayer services for a few days. He added that discussions and agreements are underway regarding the operation of taxpayer services in some local levels of Dhanusha, and these local levels will expand taxpayer services in a few days.

According to Robin Sah, information officer at the Internal Revenue Office, Mahottari, Bardibas, taxpayer services have started in Lalbandi Municipality, Bagmati Municipality, Ishworpur Municipality, Hariwan Municipality, Haripurwa Municipality, and Haripur Municipality of Sarlahi. According to him, efforts are underway to operate taxpayer services in the remaining four municipalities of Sarlahi.

According to the Internal Revenue Office, Simara, Bara, taxpayer services have been operational in seven municipalities of Rautahat. Dinesh Pandey, chief of the Internal Revenue Office, Simara, Bara, stated that taxpayer services have started in Chandrapur Municipality, Garuda Municipality, Gujara Municipality, Katahariya Municipality, Gadhimai Municipality, and Fatuwa Bijaypur Municipality of Rautahat. He added that in Bara, taxpayer services are being operated only from the Jeetpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City.

Chief Pandey stated that agreements and training are being provided for the operation of taxpayer services in some local levels of Rautahat and Bara, and services will be started in those municipalities soon. No local level in the districts of Siraha, Mahottari, and Parsa has started taxpayer services yet.

In the past, services such as issuance of personal and business permanent account number (PAN), PAN transformation, and income tax registration, which were provided by internal revenue offices, are now being provided by local levels. Additionally, for the issuance and renewal of excise duty permits, documents are collected and initially verified by the municipality, with final approval being granted through digital signatures from the internal revenue office.

Vijay Yadav, chairman of Tirhut Rural Municipality in Saptari, believes that with taxpayer services being operated from local levels, the compulsion for taxpayers within the municipality to travel to the district headquarters will be removed, saving taxpayers time and money. According to federalism expert and former National Assembly member Dr. Khim Lal Devkota, transferring tax-related services to local levels has also strengthened the coordination between local governments and federal agencies.