KATHMANDU, Sept 23: The Ministry of Finance has clarified that there has been no changes in the tax imposed on sanitary pads in the new budget.
Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Revenue Secretary Krishna Hari Puskar clarified through their social media account on Thursday evening that the new budget does not make any changes in the tax rates on sanitary pads used by women.
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The clarification comes hours after a group of youths belonging to the Youth Congress Nepal staged a symbolic protest in the capital against what they said the government's decision to impose taxes on sanitary pads.
Revenue Secretary Puskar argued that the current budget has instead given special incentives to the factories that plan to manufacture sanitary pads within Nepal. Such factories are given 100 percent income tax waiver for the first three years of their operation and 50 percent tax waiver in the years that follow to promote production of sanitary pads within the country.
Government officials have asked all those taking to the streets not to be mislead by the rumors. "Nepal government has not hiked any kinds of tax, fee or tarriff on sanitary pads now. It has instead taken a policy to promote the production of sanitary pads within the country," Revenue Secretary Pushkar wrote in his facebook post. 
