25 Sept, Kathmandu: Minister for Finance, Shankar Prasad Koirala, has said the government was ready to find the solution to balance internal production and import of foreign goods.
Inaugurating the Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Expo here today, Minister Koirala said he was ready to provide any sort of support to promote industries of traditional skills and art.
Minister Koirala said, “The government is ready to cooperate in policy, legal, infrastructure, technical matters associated to this business. The government has started such efforts by bringing industrial policy. A distinct fund has been managed separately to support the aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Minister Koirala suggested the entrepreneurs not only to think that promotion of industry was possible only by getting concession in customs duty and asked “If it was so, why was the import of liquors, vehicles, and gold not displaced?”
He added that it was unfortunate to occupy 60 per cent of Nepali market by imported furniture.Minister Koirala said the commitments signed at South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international agencies were the bottom line of the government and urged the entrepreneurs not to fear from VAT and other tax system.
Chairman of the Association, Krishnalal Pradhan, said the Nepali industrial business has been affected severely due to load shedding, lack of capable human resource, raw materials, and labour problems.
Similarly, former Chairman of the Nepal China Chambers of Commerce, Rajeshkaji Shrestha, demanded that the government should implement the programmes provided to private sector through the budget.
Around 50,000 people have been employed in Kathmandu alone from 10,000 furniture industries, he added. Furniture industries contribute in the national economy by occupying almost one per cent of the entire sector of industries. RSS
