A meeting of the Council of Ministers held yesterday (29th March, 2020) has decided to provide relief package for those affected by the nationwide lockdown. The announcement was made after the government decision to extend current lockdown by a week.

Here are some key announcements made by government Spokesperson Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada who also heads the Communications Ministry.

1. Government urged landlords to exempt rent to tenants (especially wage earnering tenants) for a month.
2. Rebate on house rent tax on the waived rent from house owners.
3. 25% rebate on electricity tariff to customers who consume up to 150 units of electricity.
4. No penalty if electricity, water and telephone bill of Falgun and Chaitra are cleared by the end of Baisakh.
5. Telecom service providers (Nepal Telecom and private TelCos) should offer 25% discount on data and voice call throughout lockdown
6. VAT, Income Tax and Advanced Tax payment deadline extended till Baisakh 25
7. ISPs encouraged to offer 25% off on services
8. Food relief to marginalised households through local level governments throughout the lockdown.
9. Food Management and Trading Company and Salt Trading Ltd to offer 10 per cent rebate on rice, lentils, sugar, oil and salt during the crisis.
10. Health ministry to be accorded additional budget for procurement of medical supplies
11. Customs waiver on import of medical equipments and all drugs
12. Loans to be channelled to epidemic affected areas
13. Employers directed to pay salaries of wage workers of organised and unorganised sectors
14. Provincial and local level governments to establish a fund through to disburse relief materials
15. Contributions for the month of Chaitra for those registered at the Social Security Fund
16. Insurance up to Rs 2.5 million to those battling Coronavirus
17. Extension of deadline for paying taxes for Falgun and Chaitra.
18. Reduction on import quota of gold to 10 kg per day from 20 kg.
19. Vehicles’ import worth more than $50,000 has been banned.
20. Govt to take loans worth approximately Rs 22 billion from the World Bank, ADB, IMF

Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/govt-announces-relief-package-highlights/