XL Axiata, a unit of Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd
's Ncell Pvt. Ltd has made a further advance deposit of 13.6bil Nepalese rupees (RM563mil) to Nepal's Large Tax Payer Office (LTPO) on behalf of the previous owner TeliaSonera Norway Nepal Holdings AS.
Axiata said on Monday the advance deposit was made following a directive by the agency.
This latest development confirmed Ncell had concluded its tax matters over the indirect sale by TeliaSonera and cleared it of the capital gains tax.
“Based on the total advance deposit placement by Ncell to date, the LTPO in its confirmation letter to Ncell today conclusively certified and acknowledged that Ncell has fully complied with the direction of depositing advance tax pursuant to Section 95A of the Income Tax Act, 2058 (2002), and the company is now fully cleared in relation to the transaction which attracted capital gains tax under the Income Tax Act, 2058 (2002).
“Despite Ncell not being a party to the transaction and neither Ncell having received nor made any payments in relation to the transaction, the deposit and closure of this matter is part of its commitment to continue serving Nepal,” it said.
Ncell managing director, Simon Perkins said: “Ncell has consistently complied with the laws of the country, and have on all occasions exercised the highest standards of governance and compliance pertaining to the fulfilment of its tax obligations.
“We thank the government of Nepal and the LTPO for their support in coming up with a resolution and concluding this matter with Ncell. With this conclusion, Ncell can now focus on proceeding with our investment and service expansion plans, in particular, with regards to 4G rollout which will leapfrog Nepal’s digital economy, without any further obstacles.”
Ncell also said it would continue to invest aggressively in Nepal's telecommunications infrastructure and ensure the delivery of high quality services to the people of Nepal.
To date, Ncell remains one largest tax payer in Nepal with over Nepalese Rupees 160bil paid over the last 13 years (Fiscal year 2005/2005 to June 1 2017).
Ncell contributes 3.2% to the GDP of Nepal, its capital and operational investment in 2016 alone amounts to US$258mil. Through its operations, directly and indirectly, Ncell supports close to 110,000 jobs in Nepal.
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