Ncell Pays Rs 9.96 billion in Tax

May 8: Private sector telecommunication service provider Ncell has paid Rs 9.96 billion in tax in the form of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) to the government on Sunday.

The paid amount is 15 percent of total capital gain earned by Ncell. The remaining 10 percent will be recovered from former stakeholder TeleSonera.

Recently, Axiata, a Malaysian telecommunication giant acquired 80 percent stake of Ncell from TeleSonera and Viser in 1.36 billion USD. The company was criticised in media and social networking sites for the uncertainty on the tax payments.

Earlier, Ncell was seen reluctant to pay the tax citing the transaction of not being taxable in Nepal. But after an ultimatum from government to pay tax till Sunday and intense pressure from all sides, Ncell finally made the tax payment to the government.