The Cabinet on Thursday endorsed the new Casino guideline, enforcing strict measures on Nepalis’ entry into gaming houses. The revised guideline will be enforced from July 16.
“If Nepalis are found inside casinos, the government will scrap the casinos’ operating license immediately,” said an official at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The guideline, which has recognised casinos as a tourism product, has made it mandatory for casinos to deposit the government-fixed royalty amount as bank guarantee first to renew the operating licence. The government will not renew the operating license of casinos that have not cleared their due royalty and taxes.
Casinos are required to pay Rs 20 million annually in royalty to the government. “As casinos are reluctant to pay the royalty, the mandatory provision of bank guarantee will ensure the government’s royalty,” the official said. The guideline has also fixed the working capital for casinos at Rs 250 million.
The local authority can make surprise raids in casinos, while the Tourism Ministry has been entrusted with the job of carrying out regular monitoring of the gaming houses, the official said.
Under the new regulation, casinos have to report their daily transaction and customer numbers to the government. They have to renew their license annually. The guideline has also enforced a provision that requires casinos to allocate 2 percent of their profits for corporate social responsibility.
Casinos are not allowed to operate around religious sites. The guideline will also govern mini casinos.
Royalty and taxes owed by casinos to the government have piled up to more than Rs 550 million this fiscal year, according to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). There are 10 casinos in the country — eight in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara.
IRD officials said almost all the gaming houses have been defaulting royalty payment, but the government has many reasons to be lenient with them.
In December 2010, the now-defunct Public Accounts Committee had directed the government to scrap the licences of casinos failing to clear royalty dues and ordered it to formulate a guideline to regulate them.
Link::http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/07/12/business/cabinet-passes-casino-guideline/374691.html
“If Nepalis are found inside casinos, the government will scrap the casinos’ operating license immediately,” said an official at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The guideline, which has recognised casinos as a tourism product, has made it mandatory for casinos to deposit the government-fixed royalty amount as bank guarantee first to renew the operating licence. The government will not renew the operating license of casinos that have not cleared their due royalty and taxes.
Casinos are required to pay Rs 20 million annually in royalty to the government. “As casinos are reluctant to pay the royalty, the mandatory provision of bank guarantee will ensure the government’s royalty,” the official said. The guideline has also fixed the working capital for casinos at Rs 250 million.
The local authority can make surprise raids in casinos, while the Tourism Ministry has been entrusted with the job of carrying out regular monitoring of the gaming houses, the official said.
Under the new regulation, casinos have to report their daily transaction and customer numbers to the government. They have to renew their license annually. The guideline has also enforced a provision that requires casinos to allocate 2 percent of their profits for corporate social responsibility.
Casinos are not allowed to operate around religious sites. The guideline will also govern mini casinos.
Royalty and taxes owed by casinos to the government have piled up to more than Rs 550 million this fiscal year, according to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). There are 10 casinos in the country — eight in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara.
IRD officials said almost all the gaming houses have been defaulting royalty payment, but the government has many reasons to be lenient with them.
In December 2010, the now-defunct Public Accounts Committee had directed the government to scrap the licences of casinos failing to clear royalty dues and ordered it to formulate a guideline to regulate them.
Link::http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/07/12/business/cabinet-passes-casino-guideline/374691.html
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