Kathmandu. Kathmandu has been operating within the metropolis at any time before, but if the business is registered within the end of October of this year, all the previous business tax will be exempted. This provision has been made in the Finance Act passed by the 19th session of the Municipal Assembly . 

The Act categorizes all types of trade and businesses operating within the metropolitan area into 12 categories and fixes the rate of registration and renewal.The nature of the business, capital investment and scope of work are considered on the basis of taxation. Earlier, the fiscal year 2072/73 was considered as the base year of tax. It has been amended to make the fiscal year 2079/80 as the base year of tax in the Act. 

The Act mandatorily states that a business must be registered by mid-October, 2083. A discount of 10 percent will be provided if you register during this period. If you are late beyond this period, you will have to pay an additional fine of Rs 1,000 . 

merchandise and shops

The Act categorizes commercial goods on the basis of luxury and necessity. Likewise, the tax will be Rs 30,000 for foreign liquors and Rs 25,000 for importers of foreign liquor.

The government has fixed Rs 30,000 to Rs 30,000 for wholesale shops selling gold and silver and diamonds and Rs 10,000 for retail shops. Similarly, departmental stores will have to pay Rs 1,25,000 while business Mart (Complex) will have to pay Rs 1 lakh. The retail rate ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 10,000 in bulk for footwear, clothes and groceries.

Expert Consulting Service

Foreign researchers or consultancies have to pay Rs 50,000 for the consultancy. In case of domestic consultancy, tax will be levied from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on the capital.

The fee has been fixed at Rs 25,000 for Foreign Employment Counseling Service and Rs 10,000 for Foreign Education Consultancy. For engineering, auditing and law firms, the fees range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. The tax has been fixed at Rs 3,000 for online businesses and e-commerce platforms.

Manufacturing business and industry

Similarly, light beverage industries and distilleries will be taxed at Rs 50,000. A tax of Rs 50,000 has been levied on industries producing underground water and Rs 7,000 for bottled water production.

Printing industries, garments, shoe factories and food industries will be charged between Rs 2,000 and Rs 12,000 depending on the capital and capacity. Tax has been fixed in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 for hydropower and electricity trading companies.

Agriculture and Food Business

A fee of Rs 15,000 has been fixed for the big vendors in the agriculture sector. A tax of Rs 6,000 will be levied on the wholesale sale of fish, meat and eggs, while Rs 2,500 will be levied on retail sales. Businesses such as nursery, beekeeping and vegetable farming have been taxed at Rs 2,000. A veterinary hospital will have to charge Rs 15,000 while a modern animal slaughterhouse will have to pay Rs 10,000.

Hotels, Tourism & Entertainment

The highest tax in this category is Rs 3 lakh for casinos. Five star hotels have to pay Rs 100,000, four-star hotels Rs 80,000, single-star hotels Rs 20,000 and general hotels Rs 1 0, 000. Homestays and small restaurants will charge between Rs 3,000 and Rs 10,000. The tax has been fixed at Rs 50,000 for foreign airlines and Rs 25,000 for domestic airlines. The price for multi-screen cinema halls has been fixed at Rs 12,000.

Communications Services Business

In the communication sector, a tax of Rs 1 lakh has been levied on telecom and mobile service providers. Internet and cable TV providers will charge Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 depending on the number of subscribers.

The government has imposed a tax of Rs 500 for online news portals, Rs 1,000 for local newspapers and Rs 2,000 for national newspapers. Courier service will charge from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000.

Financial Services Business

The central office of commercial banks will be taxed at Rs 1 lakh and branch offices will be taxed at Rs 50,000. The central office of the development bank will have to pay Rs 75,000 and the finance company will charge Rs 50,000. Cooperatives will be taxed from Rs 2,000 to Rs 15,000 depending on the region and level. Insurance companies and share broker companies have been charged Rs 50,000 respectively.

Healthcare business

In the health sector, a tax of Rs 3 lakh has been levied on medical colleges. In the case of hospitals, the charges range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1,50,000 depending on the number of beds. The fee for polyclinic has been fixed at Rs 15,000 and for general clinic at Rs 7,500. The tax will range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 75,000 depending on the investment. Labs and diagnostic centres have been charged from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000.

Education and Training Business

In the education sector, secondary schools will have to pay tax ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 100,000 depending on the number of students. Fees range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 100,000 for colleges and universities. Montessori and basic schools will be taxed from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000. Fees range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 for computer, language and skill training centers.

Maintenance business

Heavy vehicle service centres will be charged Rs 50,000 and light vehicle service centres Rs 15,000. The general motorcycle repair centre has been charged Rs 5,000 and mobile repair shop Rs 2,000. For small tasks such as electronics and watch repair, the fee ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000.

Construction business

The tax has been levied at Rs 25,000 for head office and Rs 5,000 for branch offices of ‘A’ class contractors. The ‘B’ category ‘B’ category will have to pay Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 for ‘C’ group and Rs 10,000 for ‘D’ group. The tax has been fixed in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 for hydropower companies.

Other services and businesses

Under this category, housing companies and real estate businesses will be taxed from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. The fee has been fixed at Rs 5,000 for advertising agencies, Rs 15,000 for security services and Rs 20,000 for party palaces.

The driving center will charge Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000 depending on the nature of the vehicle. Ride-sharing and goods transport business will be taxed at Rs 10,000. Beauty parlors and salons have been charged from Rs 2,000 to Rs 7,000 depending on the level of service. The metropolis has urged all the entrepreneurs to complete the legal process by paying the tax on time. In the case of businesses not included in the list of the Finance Act, the rate will be determined on the recommendation of the Revenue Committee.