Kathmandu. Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Ganesh Parajuli has said that the budget brought by the government has failed to fully address the problems of exporters. Speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives, he drew the government’s attention towards various problems in the export sector.

According to him, although the bill has incorporated some issues related to raw materials and industrialization, important aspects related to export business have been missed. Stating transportation and logistics costs were very expensive while exporting goods from Nepal, he demanded to be removed from the 2.5 percent TDS levied on air and sea transportation tariffs. He said that this problem which was implemented in 2067 BS has not been removed even now. He said that the cost of export has increased due to this arrangement.

Stating that plywood is an important export commodity of Nepal, Parajuli said that plywood worth Rs 8 billion was exported last year. However, last year, the export of raw materials was reduced to Rs 4 billion due to the situation of export of raw materials, he said.

He demanded that the government should take special initiative to protect and promote the plywood industry which has cent per cent raw materials available in the country and has high export potential. He said that the customs duty on raw materials could be increased from Rs 6 per kg to Rs 12 per kg so that finished goods could be exported by processing them in the country.

Meanwhile, Parajuli said that although the government had announced incentives for exports last year, entrepreneurs are yet to receive the amount. He demanded that the government should provide the amount immediately as the entrepreneurs have already paid the tax by including the grant in their account.

Stating that the government should seriously listen to the genuine concerns and suggestions raised by the industrialists and entrepreneurs, he stressed the need of further policy reforms for export promotion.

During the discussion on the budget, MP Parajuli indicated that there was no complete consensus within the ruling party regarding the budget. According to him, although the Finance Minister has claimed that the budget has incorporated all the issues, they did not agree with it.

He said that although there were positive efforts in the budget, it has not been able to accommodate all aspects.