KATHMANDU, Jan 1: The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) filed 42 cases of revenue leakage worth Rs 8.29 billion in a one-year period of 2022.

According to the DRI, it slapped cent percent cash fines in 24 cases. The cash penalty amounts stood at Rs 7.58 billion.

Among those grilled in revenue leakage, the case related to Coca Cola, the parent company of Bottlers Nepal, was the biggest. The multinational company has been accused of evading capital gains tax (CGT) worth Rs 3.71 billion. The DRI filed a case against the multinational company at the court, seeking to recover Rs 7.43 billion in total.

Bottlers Nepal has been accused of carrying out the misconduct through ‘offshore indirect transaction’ while transferring the promoters’ shares of foreign stakeholder some six years ago. Coca Cola Southwest Asia Holdings Limited, one of the main investors of Bottlers Nepal, had sold a large amount of its stakes in the Nepal-based company to Bottling Investments Group.

But the company failed to notify officially the government authority concerned in Nepal in an apparent bid to evade tax. The DRI has filed cases against nine foreign citizens who hold high ranking positions in the multinational company. Similarly, eight officials of Bottlers Nepal have been dragged into controversy.

Likewise, a number of cases were related to the revenue leakage via the use of illegal transactions of crypto currency and online gambling. During the review period, the DRI filed two cases related to crypto currency for leakage of revenue worth Rs 473.88 million. Similarly, the revenue investigation body recovered Rs 97.46 million from the individuals accused of being involved in online betting.

Likewise, a large number of cases were related to the use of fake VAT bills, falsified financial reports, fake VAT details, illegal hundi transactions and selling of contraband products. The recovered amount out of these cases ranged between Rs 20 million to more than Rs 1 billion. 

 
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