Himal Press 
An undated photo of Pattaya beach. Thailand is one of the popular holiday destinations for Nepali people.
KATHMANDU: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has laid the groundwork for the implementation of a decision to impose a 5% service charge on payments made by Nepali citizens for foreign tours.
The IRD issued the Foreign Tourism Fee Working Procedure, 2023, to facilitate the implementation of the foreign tourism fee on Tuesday. Section 22 of the Finance Act, 2023, states that a 5% service will be levied on payments made by Nepali citizens for foreign tours.
According to the working procedure, travel agents selling foreign tour packages will be required to apply a 5% service charge on the cost of their tour packages. Travel agents must deposit the collected amount at the Taxpayer Service Office, Internal Revenue Office, Medium Taxpayers Office, or Large Taxpayers Office within the 25th day of the following month. Failure to do so will result in a fine of 2.5% plus an annual interest rate of 15%.
In accordance with the procedure, firms, who possess a permanent account number, do not need to register separately for the purpose of fee collection and revenue filing.
