Kathmandu. Industries that have refused to pay the fees for using the physical infrastructure inside the industrial zone have started paying dues after the government warned of action.

The industries operating in 10 different industrial sectors have started paying the electricity after the Industrial Area Management Limited warned of recovering the arrears as per the law if they did not pay the dues within seven days.

According to Basudev Sodari, information officer of the Limited, the industries operating in the industrial zone have paid more than one crore rupees as per the latest information. Issuing a notice on June 8, the government-owned company had directed the industry to pay the arrears within seven days.

More than 300 industries are yet to pay dues of more than Rs 880 million. Industry Minister Gauri Kumari has directed the industrialists to pay their dues immediately.

According to the Limited, Patan Industrial Estate owes Rs 101 million, Balaju Industries Rs 438.9 million, Hetauda Industries Rs 209 million, Dharan Industries Rs 7.1 million and Pokhara Industrial Corridor Rs 44.1 million.

Likewise, Butwal Industrial Corridor has dues of Rs 45.7 million, Nepalgunj industry Rs 13.4 million, Birendranagar industry Rs 600,000, Bhaktapur industry Rs 17.1 million and Gajendra Narayan Singh Industrial Corridor Rs 6.3 million.

According to the Limited, it has been facing difficulties in constructing and repairing the infrastructure of the industrial area and providing facilities to the industries due to non-payment of arrears from the industrialists. According to the Limited, the industries established as per the agreement in the industrial zone have ignored the repeated reminders to pay the regular tariff for the use of land, building, electricity and water services provided by the office.

After the notice, the number of industrialists coming to the office to understand and gradually paying the dues has increased. “The industries with little arrears have started paying the tariff. “, he said. Industries with high arrears are also involved in tariff management. “They (industries) have come with a statement and they wish they could have got a waiver in tariffs,” he said. Information Officer Sodari said, “They have requested the government not to take fines for arrears. ’

How did millions of dues remain?

The Board of Directors of the Industrial Area Management on November 21, 2075 had decided to increase the fare for all industrial zones. The industrialists took the matter to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, citing that the fare hiked by the management was exorbitant.

At that time, the industrial area management had increased the rent at different rates in the industrial areas in the valley and outside. Outside the Kathmandu Valley, the monthly fare was increased by 8,000 to Rs 16,000. The fare was proposed to be increased from Rs 16,000 to Rs 81,000 in Balaju Industrial Area. It was decided to increase the fare by five percent every year. There are more than 700 industries operating in the industrial zones across the country.

Addressing the grievances of the industrialists, the then Ministry of Industry directed the management to stop the decision to increase the fare. Sodari said that the board has postponed the decision to increase the fare following the directive of the ministry.

After studying the matter, the Ministry had returned the decision in 2078 BS stating that the Board of Directors had all the rights including the fare hike after four years.

On July 6, 2079, the Board of Directors decided to implement the fare rate again from July 17, 2079 and said that the bill should be done from the same date. Accordingly, the company sent the bill to the industrialists from July 2075. Industrialists said that they cannot pay the old tariff and can only pay the amount after the date of the bill. The Federation of Nepalese Industrial Region Industries (FINCI) had filed a petition at Patan High Court after the dispute escalated over the tariff dispute.

In the writ filed by the federation, the court ruled in the name of the limited to collect the increased fare. After this, the industrialists went to the Supreme Court, according to Information Officer Sodari.

The Supreme Court ruled on the case on 12th Chaitra 2081 and directed the Limited to recover the fare from July 1, 2079 (the date of billing). In the same verdict, Sodari said that the government has issued a mandamus to revise the tariff within a month, warning about the provision of revision of the tariff every ÷five years.

On January 10, 2002, the Board of Directors decided to go for review against the decision. The next date of hearing of the case is scheduled for June 26. The Board of Directors had decided to go for review as the company would incur a loss of Rs 15÷16 million due to the execution of the verdict.

According to him, the Federation of Industries has also proposed to implement the decision of March 12, 2081 by withdrawing the petition related to review at the Industrial Management Board Board of Directors.

President of the Federation of Nepalese Industries (FNCCI), Ejaz Alam, said that the industrialists are eager to resolve the problems related to the arrears of dues. He said that both sides have urged the government to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict by withdrawing the review case to create industrial environment in the country.

Information Officer Sodari said that the industrialists have been requested to deposit the amount as deposit as deposit for the construction of all the infrastructure in the industrial area.