IRD prepares procedure for five percent tax on foreign tour

KATHMANDU, July 19:The Foreign Tourism Charges Procedure, 2080, has been issued by the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD).

Section 22 of the Economic Act of 2080 states that a 5% foreign tourism tax will be levied on payments made by Nepali visitors traveling overseas for tourism. The department has issued a method for implementing the aforementioned law.

The procedure states that "foreign tour package sellers will have to charge 5% of the amount paid by Nepali tourists going for tourism abroad during the sale of the package," and that "firms or companies will charge 5% of the expenses incurred when taking natural persons related to them on a foreign tour in the course of business promotion." Fees must be levied at a percentage rate.'

Firms and companies who sell packages or offer tours can pay such fees to the Taxpayer Service Office, Internal Revenue Office, Medium Taxpayer Office, and Large Taxpayer Office.

According to the protocol, a person with a permanent account number does not need to register separately for the purposes of collecting fees and filing in the revenue account.

Fees collected by package sellers or tour businesses must be filed by the 25th of the next month under the code of the appropriate office and the authorized revenue title.

If the fee is not filed within the stipulated time frame, an extra sum of 2.5% per annually plus interest at the rate of 15% per annum will be imposed.