Business community says no to donation

Business community on Sunday unveiled ´Business Code of Conduct Concepts´ and declared that they would not give donations to any political parties and persons with the intention of gain. "We will not give any kind of donations, presents, services or facilities to any political person or party with an intention of gain in the coming days," reads the business code of conduct that Chief of Interim Election Council Khila Raj Regmi unveiled on Sunday. The business code of conduct has set ethics in six different areas such as consumer protection, tax and financial accountability, labor, environment, anti-corruption, and competition and market protection. “The code of conduct has been prepared to pave the future path for good practices for business community," Padma Jyoti, president of Nepal Business Institute (NBI) said. The NBI prepared the business code of conduct after holding consultations with members of the business community.The code of conduct explicitly focuses on donations and gifts at a time when business people are lobbying for developing a system where they can include donations given to political parties in their account. "We uphold the principle that we must not give bribe, gifts and donations directly or indirectly for our business and financial advantage," states the code of conduct concept paper. "If any situation is created where we are forced to conduct such acts, we will lodge complaints with the concerned agencies." Unveiling the code of conduct, Regmi assured business community that the government would provide all necessary help to implement the business ethics. "The most important thing at the moment is creating industrial-friendly environment in the country," Regmi said. "The government is ready to help the business community to implement the code of conduct. I also expect the business community to stick to the ethics it has set for itself." Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar, vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said the entire business community is ready to follow the code of conduct for fair and good practices in the business sector. Similarly, the code of conduct also states that the business community would not support monopoly and unhealthy business practices. "We will be mindful of ´the sovereignty of consumers´, " reads the code of conduct. The business community has also expressed commitment for paying taxes on time, respecting consumers´ right, protecting environment, and abiding by the law of the land to ensure competition in the market, among others.