Central bank freezes bank account of Media house

Kathmandu, June 4 (UNI) The Central Bank of Nepal -- Nepal Rastra Bank -- froze the bank account of Space Time Network, the largest Cable TV operator, and its Managing Director Jamim Shah on the charge of evading tax amounting to Rs 120 million, media reports said.

''Responding to the request of Inland Revenue Department, we issued circulars on May 30 to all the banks and financial institutions directing them to suspend accounts belonging to the Network and Mr Shah,'' Kantipur quoted a senior official as saying.

Jamim Shah runs a TV channel, cable TV and a Space Time newspaper in Kathmandu.

''The Tax Office has also requested the Land Revenue Department to freeze the transactions of the land and property belonging to the network and Mr Shah. However, the land department has not responded so far,'' he added.

Mr Deep Basnet, Director General of Inland Revenue Department said, ''The office took the action against the network and the managing director after the latter did not comply with its directives to clear unpaid taxes.'' The office had held a series of meetings with Mr Shah and even warned that his bank accounts and properties would be frozen.

''Since no response came from the party, we were forced to take action,'' Mr Basnet added.

''If Shah still refuses to pay taxes, our next action will be to seal the operations of the Network and to take action against him,'' he said.

This is the first time that the bank account of a media house has been closed in Nepal since the restoration of democracy.

UNI