Public notice issued against Dugar along with 21 firms

KATHMANDU, MARCH 17: The Inland Revenue Office (IRO) in Biratnagar has issued a public notice against industrialist and former special economic advisor to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Motilal Dugar, for failing to pay taxes.

Dugar, a former Member of Parliament from the CPN-UML, was appointed as Oli’s special economic advisor in 2020. However, he has not held any official position in Oli’s latest tenure.

Earlier on March 3, the IRO issued a 15-day notice to 101 businesses and companies to clear outstanding taxes. The notice includes Asia Chemical Company Pvt. Ltd. (Biratnagar-14), Asian Chem Pvt. Ltd. (Biratnagar-17), and Harrison Palace Pvt. Ltd. (Biratnagar-2), all affiliated with Dugar.

Additionally, Bhumi Construction and Bhumi Infrastructure have also failed to pay taxes. Avinash Bohara, a central member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), has not cleared VAT and income tax dues for Bhumi Construction Pvt. Ltd. for the past two years.

Similarly, industrialist Pawan Kumar Rathi’s Sunrise Paper Mills and Hansraj Jain’s Arihant Company are among 21 firms listed as tax defaulters.  The said public notice regarding these companies was published yesterday.