Axiata, Ncell ordered to pay capital gains tax in Nepal

KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd and its subsidiary Ncell Pte Ltd have three months to pay capital gains tax to the Nepalese government over Axiata’s acquisition of Ncell in 2015.

Axiata confirmed that the Supreme Court of Nepal (SC) has issued its full written order yesterday in relation to its oral order dated Feb 6 on a public interest litigation filed by a group of Nepali individuals.

The litigants sought various orders from the SC including that tax be collected by Ncell and Axiata Investments UK Ltd in relation to the indirect transfer of an 80% stake in Ncell to Axiata UK, through the purchase of Reynolds Holdings Ltd from TeliaSonera Norway Nepal Holdings AS.

To recap, Axiata bought the 80% stake in Ncell from TeliaSonera for US$1.365bil in 2015. After TeliaSonera exited Nepal, the issue of who should pay the tax became widely debated.

Source : TheStar