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Here’s wild goose chase for few millions more

KATHMANDU, NOV 06 - The decision to impose 40 percent tax on the produce emanating from community forests has been long drawing ire from Federation of Community Forest Users’ Group Nepal (FECOFUN), which had successfully moved apex court challenging the legality of the move on June 2 2000.However since the government has enforced the tax by promulgating the ordinance earlier this fiscal year, the FECOFUN is currently intensifying its efforts to ensure that the ordinance is shelved six months hence. The apex court had upheld its writ on March 28, 2003 citing Forest Act-1992.
"We are keen to see that the government shelves the ordinance. This is against the rule of law. Imagine the government resorting to promulgating an ordinance to enforce 40 percent tax which is against the governing Forest Act-1992", " said Apsara Chapagain, who is Vice President of FECOFUN.
The row, however, goes back to the year 2000 when on May 1 the government first decided to impose 40 percent tax on forest produce much against the spirit of the Forest Act- 1992. The Act forbids any tax on the produce emanating from the community forests.
Following this, the FECPFUN moved court challenging the legality of the cabinet decision to impose 40 percent tax on forest produce on June 2, 2000. The apex court had upheld the writ petition and billed the government decision as ultra vires.
Government had plumbed for legal avenues to have the tax levied by moving court seeking a judicial review on the issue on July 14, earlier this year. But the apex court had once again stood by the Forest Act-1992, thus disallowing the government the luxury of taxing the community forests.
The Forest Act – 1992, explicitly says, "Produce emanating from the community forests are not liable to any tax." But the government once again decided to tax the wood emanating from the community forests in what is being billed as a wild goose chase for few more millions.Meanwhile, executive member of FECOFUN Rajendra Lamichhane insists, "It is still the violation of the governing Act to say that the government can impose tax on sales done outside the CFUGs. Much of the transactions take place outside the group. The ordinance must be shelved."
Lamichhane also claimed that lobbying is intense at every possible level, with "even the minister coming around to agree with us on the issue. It appears that they will have to shelve the ordinance at some point or the other. "
The government’s doggedness to have its way on the issue seems strange since the Forest Act- 1992 says while 25 percent of the income recorded by the Community Forest Users’ Group (CFUGs) should go towards community forest development, the rest 75 percent should go towards social development.Incidentally, this is something which has been loosely explained.
However, the claim that over 13, 500 CFUGs are run efficiently appears to be a tall one since there is not even updated figure on the annual or cumulative income recorded by them over the years with estimates have put the same at over Rs 170 —200 million.Posted on: 2003-11-05 08:56

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