{"id":16617,"date":"2026-05-08T07:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16617"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:14:07","slug":"pokhara-airport-tax-exemption-scandal-rs-3-62-billion-claim-against-minister-to-secretaries-for-collusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16617","title":{"rendered":"Pokhara Airport Tax Exemption Scandal: Rs 3.62 Billion Claim Against Minister to Secretaries for Collusion<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case at the Special Court against 14 individuals, including one former minister, four former secretaries, and one serving secretary, on charges of corruption related to granting tax exemptions contrary to the original agreement in the construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport.<\/p>\n

The anti-graft body has claimed a sum of Rs 3.62 billion in damages and has also named the Chinese construction company CAMC Engineering and its two representatives as accomplices.<\/p>\n

How Did the Tax Exemption Happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to available details, on October 19, 2014 (3 Kartik 2071 BS), a meeting chaired by then Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat agreed to forward a proposal to the Council of Ministers for a loan agreement. The meeting was attended by then Tourism Minister Deepak Amatya, Finance Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma, Law Secretary Bhesh Raj Sharma, Tourism Secretary Suresh Man Shrestha, and then Joint Secretary Madhu Marasini, along with the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, the Tourism Ministry tabled the loan agreement proposal before the Council of Ministers. On October 27, 2014 (10 Kartik 2071 BS), the Cabinet decided that “the Ministry of Finance shall arrange the necessary funds for construction under the EPC model under the Chinese concessional loan.” The decision made no mention of tax exemptions.<\/p>\n

However, a tax exemption provision was later included in the loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China. Based on this, the construction company prepared a master list and obtained the tax exemption. The 60th report of the Office of the Auditor General had flagged this as a discrepancy, pointing out that the original agreement stipulated that all taxes, fees, and duties were the responsibility of the contractor.<\/p>\n

Three Cases Now at the Special Court<\/strong><\/p>\n

To date, three separate cases linked to the airport affair have reached the Special Court. The first case was filed on December 7, 2025 (21 Mangsir 2082 BS) against 56 individuals, including then Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, five other former ministers, and nine former secretaries, on charges of irregularities in the bidding process that artificially inflated costs.<\/p>\n

The second case was filed on March 22, 2026 (8 Chait 2082 BS) against 21 individuals, claiming Rs 461.5 million in damages for irregularities in the appointment and fees of consultants.<\/p>\n

The third and latest case concerns the tax exemption. A sub-committee of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee had also concluded that granting tax exemptions against the original contract amounted to policy-level corruption.<\/p>\n

The Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated and came into operation on January 1, 2023 (17 Poush 2079 BS).<\/p>\n

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