The Cabinet has extended the deadline by 15 days for delinquent casinos to pay their outstanding royalties and obtain new operating permits. This is the fourth time in nine months that the government has given more time to gaming houses who have been defiantly continuing to operate without obtaining a licence and paying taxes.
A Cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to give the casinos one last chance after Tourism Minister Bhim Acharya proposed extending the deadline at the request of casino employee unions.
The previous administration led by Khil Raj Regmi had extended the deadline thrice for casinos to pay their dues under Casino Regulation 2013 and stop operating illegally. The gambling houses were given a four-month deadline until Nov 21, 2013, to obtain new operating licences as per the new Casino Regulation which came into effect on July 16, 2013.
The casinos disregarded the government order, and the time limit was lengthened by another four months until March 21, 2014. With the casinos still showing no interest in paying their taxes, the government announced a 15-day extension on March 20.
Tourism Ministry sources said that Minister Acharya was likely to be flexible on the amount of the royalty and other fees imposed by the new regulation.
The Financial Bill 2013-14 has doubled the royalty amount that casinos and electronic gaming houses (mini casinos ) have to pay the government. Under the bill, a casino is required to pay Rs 40 million and electronic gaming houses Rs 30 million annually.
Similarly, casinos are required to have a paid-up capital of at least Rs 250 million while the paid-up capital for electronic gaming houses has been fixed at Rs 150 million. The application fee has been set at Rs 500,000 and Rs 200,000 for casinos and electronic gaming houses respectively. Subsequently, the casinos went to the Supreme Court to have the new regulation cancelled. However, on March 21, the court rejected their plea ruling that the regulation had been prepared as per an earlier court order to streamline the casinos .
Meanwhile, Minister Acharya has said that the government could address some of the concerns including the new royalty payment structure by amending the regulation if the casinos settled the unpaid fees.
The government brought the new regulation into effect on July 16 in a bid to keep the wayward casinos under a firmer grip. It decided to get tough as the casinos were habitually defaulting on taxes and disregarding the rule barring Nepalis from entry. Nepalis are not allowed to enter the gaming houses which are intended to provide recreational opportunities to foreign tourists.
There are 10 casinos in the country, eight in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara, employing an estimated 3,500 workers. Two of them, Casino Grand housed at the Hotel Grand in Pokhara and Casino Shangri La housed at the Shangri La Hotel Kathmandu, have since closed down.
Source
A Cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to give the casinos one last chance after Tourism Minister Bhim Acharya proposed extending the deadline at the request of casino employee unions.
The previous administration led by Khil Raj Regmi had extended the deadline thrice for casinos to pay their dues under Casino Regulation 2013 and stop operating illegally. The gambling houses were given a four-month deadline until Nov 21, 2013, to obtain new operating licences as per the new Casino Regulation which came into effect on July 16, 2013.
The casinos disregarded the government order, and the time limit was lengthened by another four months until March 21, 2014. With the casinos still showing no interest in paying their taxes, the government announced a 15-day extension on March 20.
Tourism Ministry sources said that Minister Acharya was likely to be flexible on the amount of the royalty and other fees imposed by the new regulation.
The Financial Bill 2013-14 has doubled the royalty amount that casinos and electronic gaming houses (mini casinos ) have to pay the government. Under the bill, a casino is required to pay Rs 40 million and electronic gaming houses Rs 30 million annually.
Similarly, casinos are required to have a paid-up capital of at least Rs 250 million while the paid-up capital for electronic gaming houses has been fixed at Rs 150 million. The application fee has been set at Rs 500,000 and Rs 200,000 for casinos and electronic gaming houses respectively. Subsequently, the casinos went to the Supreme Court to have the new regulation cancelled. However, on March 21, the court rejected their plea ruling that the regulation had been prepared as per an earlier court order to streamline the casinos .
Meanwhile, Minister Acharya has said that the government could address some of the concerns including the new royalty payment structure by amending the regulation if the casinos settled the unpaid fees.
The government brought the new regulation into effect on July 16 in a bid to keep the wayward casinos under a firmer grip. It decided to get tough as the casinos were habitually defaulting on taxes and disregarding the rule barring Nepalis from entry. Nepalis are not allowed to enter the gaming houses which are intended to provide recreational opportunities to foreign tourists.
There are 10 casinos in the country, eight in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara, employing an estimated 3,500 workers. Two of them, Casino Grand housed at the Hotel Grand in Pokhara and Casino Shangri La housed at the Shangri La Hotel Kathmandu, have since closed down.
Source
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