Summary✨
- Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle presented the Budget Speech 2083/84, outlining government priorities for the fiscal year.
- Nepal Telecom plans to sell 34% of its shares to the public in Poush, 2083, to raise funds for tech development.
- A 10% VAT rebate on digital payments aims to boost the digital economy among consumers.
- The establishment of an AI computer center in Kathmandu will support AI entrepreneurs with subsidized resources.
- The budget allocated Rs 5.93 arba for the information and telecom sector, though it lacked details on 5G and telecom taxes.
The finance minister of Nepal, Swarnim Wagle, has delivered the highly anticipated budget speech for FY 2083/84 on Jestha 13, 2083, reflecting the government’s plans, policies, and priorities for the next fiscal year. The budget of Rs 21.24 kharba highlights several of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)’s plans and policies we saw in the RSP manifesto. Here’s what it has for the telecommunications industry and digital Nepal for the next year.
Before we head to the major highlights, let’s also note that the government has increased the salary of all government employees from those at public enterprises to teachers by 21% and has announced major tax relief for IT and other sectors.
Let’s get to the details now.
Table of contents
Highlights of Budget Speech FY 2083/84
NTC share divestment in Poush
The government has announced the plan to sell Nepal Telecom’s shares to the public in Poush, 2083. According to the finance minister, Wagle, the government will allocate 34% of shares to the public while keeping 66% for the federal government. The government plans to use the collected funds to help transform Nepal into a tech hub.
Check out: Pratipakchya.com to track government’s 100 promises
10% VAT off on digital payment
The minister announced a rebate of 10% VAT on digital payments. Currently, Nepal consumers pay 13% VAT on online payments. The tax revision empowers the digital economy while encouraging consumers to choose electronic payments. Find out digital payment limits in Nepal
Telecommunications Regulation Bill
The minister said that a Telecommunications Regulation Authority Bill will be prepared that will bring forth new policy-level concepts for the ICT industry. He further added that the government will work to ensure high-quality telecommunications services and that reliable services will be expanded in Karnali and Far-west Provinces. Currently, NTC 4G covers 750 local levels out of 753, and possibly, full coverage will be achieved very soon.
AI compute center
An AI compute center will be established in Syuchatar, Kathmandu. Finance Minister Wagle said it will be the country’s first sovereign center. “We will establish the country’s first sovereign AI compute center in Syuchatar, Kathmandu,” Wagle said. According to him, thousands of AI processing units will be purchased, and subsidized computer capacity will be provided to AI entrepreneurs and startups, Wagle said.
Also: Bichuten announces tier-4 data center project in Nepal, to run on hydroelectricity
Tax income
The personal income tax exemption limit has been doubled to Rs 10 lakh, which is expected to provide major relief to middle-class taxpayers. Now, the income threshold subject to the minimum one percent tax has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
NID as a basic Identity card
Finance Minister announced that the National ID card will be developed as the major ID card for public services. Likewise, the Hello Sarkar system will be developed as the primary platform for government-citizen communication.
Social media for entrepreneurship
The government will promote entrepreneurship activities on social media. The minister Wagle shared that registered social media will be a place to raise economic activities for Nepalis.
The minister has sanctioned a budget of Rs 5.93 arba for the information and telecom sector for FY 2083/84.
What we missed from budget speech for FY 2083/84
In the budget speech for FY 2083/84, we didn’t hear anything about the 5G network in Nepal. We did hear some on the expansion of telecom services in rural areas, but the national telco NTC is already reaching full coverage. It’s noteworthy that the topic of data center conspicuously went missing. The taxes and fees in the telecom sector have long been debated and criticized. But that topic was also not addressed. Anyway, we expect the government to continuously working on these topics in the background.
What did you think of this budget overall, from plans for the telecom industry to taxation and other sectors? Do share your impression in the comments down below.
