Banking News – The Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs Federation has urged the government to establish a dedicated relief fund to support victims of public transport accidents and their families.

A delegation led by Federation President Rajendra Bikram Baniya met Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Waglé on Tuesday to discuss the proposal. The federation stated that while the FY 2083/84 budget provides Rs. 1 million in insurance compensation for families of accident victims and Rs. 300,000 for medical treatment of injured persons, these amounts are often insufficient to cover actual treatment costs.

According to the federation, hospital expenses for seriously injured accident victims frequently exceed the insurance coverage, forcing transport entrepreneurs, vehicle owners, and transport associations to bear the additional financial burden.

The federation proposed the establishment of a separate “Injured Relief Fund” to provide additional compensation, medical treatment, and rehabilitation support for accident victims. It suggested that the fund could be financed through contributions collected from transport entrepreneurs and managed under a dedicated government guideline.

During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Waglé expressed a positive view toward creating a separate relief fund for expenses not covered by insurance. He said the government could formulate guidelines to determine whether the fund would be managed solely by transport entrepreneurs or jointly with government participation.

The federation also requested that financial contributions collected from member organizations for humanitarian assistance and accident relief be exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT). It argued that such funds are used exclusively for relief and welfare purposes and should therefore be included under the VAT Act, 2052 as tax-exempt transactions.

Responding to the request, Finance Minister Waglé said that VAT-related provisions cannot be amended during the current fiscal year, but encouraged the federation to engage with the government around five months before the next national budget to discuss possible tax policy changes.

The federation further drew the government’s attention to the continued disruption at the Tatopani border crossing, Nepal’s major trade gateway with China. It stated that the border has remained partially closed for weeks due to landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, significantly affecting trade activities and resulting in the loss of billions of rupees in daily customs revenue. The federation urged the government to restore full operations at the Tatopani border as soon as possible.