August 28: Revenue collection has suffered a setback again due to the prohibitory order issued by local governments in various districts across the country.

The government had just started making some progress in revenue collection after the four-month long lockdown was lifted a month ago when the new restrictions played the spoilsport.

Revenue officials said they were close to meeting the target of revenue collection after the lockdown was lifted on July 21. But the imposition of prohibitory order in the capital and other districts where major industries are located once again prevented the Inland Revenue Department from meeting its target.

Before the prohibitory orders were imposed, the revenue collection was around Rs 2 billion per day. But it took a nosedive after the restrictions were announced by the local governments. Revenue offices under the IRD are struggling to collect Rs 1 billion per day at present.

According to the Director General of IRD Binod Bahadur Kunwar, revenue collection has been hampered because people are not able to come out of their homes while the revenue offices are also not able to operate in full capacity.

“We are not even able to collect revenue worth Rs 300 million per day,” he said.

Even the customs department has failed to collect revenue as the northern border remains closed while there is limited entry of goods from the Nepal-India border.

“The prohibitory order has affected industrial works and therefore the import of raw materials has also declined. This is one of the major reasons for the decline in revenue collection,” said a high-ranking revenue official requesting anonymity.