KATHMANDU: The outgoing government of KP Sharma Oli has extended the deadline for Smart Telecom to pay its dues worth Rs 6 billion though the company had already breached the previous deadline given by the government to clear its arrears.
The last cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Ashad 28 extended the deadline for Smart by six months. Smart had filed an application with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology demanding an extension in payment period by one year.
The meeting of the Cabinet decided to extend the deadline for Smart by six months. The ministry has already given this instruction to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTAA) citing the decision of the cabinet. “We have written a letter to Smart informing that it has been given a deadline till mid-January to pay the arrears. We have also instructed the company to analyze its financial condition and submit it to the Ministry by mid-November,” informed Santosh Poudel, spokesperson at NTA.
As stated in the Cabinet decision, Smart has to submit its progress report to NTA every month, as per Poudel.