System of collecting land taxes through banks to be extended

THE Department of Land Reform and Management (DoLRM) has been preparing to extend the system of collecting taxes through banks to another 15 Land Revenue Offices (LRO) across the country after it became a resounding success in the Kathmandu valley. Nepal Bank Limited and Rastriya Banijya Bank have been providing the service at the five LROs in the valley since the past eight months. Under the system, property owners can pay their land taxes and other fees at the offices of the two banks. According to the DoLRM, LRO offices in Sunsari, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Dhanusha, Parsa, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Kavre, Rupandehi, Kaski, Dang, Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur will come under the system in the near future. The department has made budget allocations to implement the scheme and asked its offices to make room for the bank outlets. “We have written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to call a meeting to discuss the plan. Since numerous government agencies are involved, we will have to get their approval to implement it,” said Kamal Prasad Timalsina, under secretary at the DoLRM. According to him, the DoLRM will have to acquire permission from the Office of the Attorney General, Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank before launching the system. As the tax money collected by the LROs has to be shared with the district development committees and municipalities, coordination with them is necessary, said Timalsina. “This process takes two to three months. For this reason, we are serious about holding talks with the concerned authorities,” added Timilsina. According to him, the Citizens Charter, which requires compensation to be paid for failure to provide service, is in effect at the 20 LRO offices planned to be brought under the new scheme. “The system is already in place at the five LROs in Kathmandu,” he said. The implementation of tax collection through banks has many benefits for service vendors as well as service seekers. Amid growing complaints about financial fraud in the LROs, the move is likely to bring financial transparency and give some respite to the general public. “It is a convenient method for both the employees as well as the service seekers,” said Timilsina. “Due to lack of awareness, even neat and clean transactions in the offices have been mistaken as fraud. This system will bring such problems to an end.”