Government has decided to let Nepal Telecom (NTC) pay Rs 20 billion Mobile license renewal fee in installment. The cabinet has come up with the decision for the payment of the 20 billion amount in 5 portions.
Nepal Telecom has been hesitating to pay the whopping renewal fee citing the unclear provisions. They also claim the amount to be huge, which hinders the sustainability of the telecom company.
- NTA sets a deadline for the payment of mobile license renewal
- NTA decides to collect 20 billion Rs for the mobile license renewal.
As per the rule, Telecom companies need to pay Rs 20 billion at first for getting the license for 10 years. Then they should also pay the 20 billion for renewal of mobile license every 5 years.
The argument for 20 billion
NTA had also threatened Ntc with the deadline for the license renewal. For which, NTC employee unions demanded to take the mobile license renewal as per the recommendation from PAC and earlier cabinet.
Rumor says, NTA agreed to renew the mobile license to Nepal Telecom while addressing the 20 billion amount issue later.
Nepal Telecom also sought the support of Government if they were forced to pay Rs 20 billion at once. With the latest decision, Nepal Telecom can pay the amount at the rate of 4 billion per year for 5 years. But they have been arguing for the clarity in the legal provisions.
Nepal Telecom got the mobile license in 2056 B.S. That time Ntc agreed to pay the license amount to be decided later. As Ncell (Mero Mobile) agreed upon the 20 billion Rs for the mobile license, NTA carried over the same amount to Ntc for getting the license and renewal.
20 billion for all telcos!!
NTA also says the same amount will be applicable to all of the telecom companies in Nepal. Recently Ncell has also applied for the mobile license renewal while paying the 4 billion amount. They have been asking for permission to pay the huge amount in 8 installments as done before for both the telcos.
