KATHMANDU: The government of Nepal collected around Rs 358 million in Value Added Tax (VAT) from foreign firms for services provided to Nepali consumers over the internet in the last fiscal year, 2023/24, according to the Large Taxpayers Office.

In the previous fiscal year, 2022/23, the government had collected around Rs 100 million in VAT and Rs 16 million in Digital Service Tax (DST). 

According to the Digital Service Tax Procedure, 2022 which came into effect from the fiscal year 2022/23, a non-resident person providing digital services to Nepali consumers is charged 2% DST if their annual transaction exceeds Rs 2 million.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) had also issued a procedure for VAT applicable to digital service for non-resident persons.

The Income Tax Act, 2002, uses the 183-day rule as one of the criteria to determine non-residents for tax purposes.

Janak Raj Sharma, chief tax administrator at the office, told New Business Age that 18 foreign firms providing such services have been registered in Nepal by the end of the last fiscal year, up from eight by the end of the previous fiscal year.

Among the firms registered in Nepal are Goggle Asia, NCS Pearson, Linkedin, Meta, Microsoft Original, Amazon Web, Amazon.com, Adobe, Netflix, Zoho Corporation, Google Digital, Prometric Japan, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Pearson Education and Apple Distribution, according to Sharma.

The registered firms will have to present their financial declaration and pay the DST for the last fiscal year by the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Sharma said, adding, “The DST is only levied for services provided to the consumers, not to the businesses.”

According to the procedure, services such as advertisements, data storage, gaming, those related to mobile applications, supply and update of software, and downloads of data and images; movies, television, music, over the top and similar subscription based services; and online marketplace and goods and services to be provided through it, among others, fall under the ‘digital service’.

The IRD had asked such foreign firms to be registered in Nepal from July 17, 2022, the beginning of the fiscal year 2022/23.