Royal Bhutan Lottery Limited was officially launched by the Hon’ble Finance Minister on 8th April 2016 in Phuentsholing. The launching ceremony was attended by the board directors of RBLL, representative from various Government sectors and business communities based in Phuentsholing.
The Royal Bhutan Lottery Limited has been established as a State Owned Enterprise under the Ministry of Finance. A multi-sectoral board of directors chaired by Finance Secretary with senior representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Home and Cultural Affairs and Economic Affairs has been formed.
The Hon’ble Finance Minister, Lyonpo Namgay Dorji led the Bhutanese delegation to the First High Level Follow – up Dialogue on Financing for Development in Asia and the Pacific Region which was held on 30th – 31st March 2016 in Incheon, the Republic of Korea. The objective of this dialogue was to discuss the strategies for the implementation of the Agenda in Asia and the Pacific Region, with a focus on six key issues; regional tax cooperation, capital markets, institutional investors, financial inclusion, climate finance and South-South cooperation and triangular development cooperation. This dialogue provided policy recommendations for a regional plan of action on financing for development.
The event was co-hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. It was also attended by high-level representatives from other countries, including Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, as well as all relevant institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and business sector entities.
Press Release Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers preceded by the Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Secretaries
The Seventh Meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers preceded by the Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Secretaries was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 19th and 20th August, 2015 respectively. The meeting was inaugurated by Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Sushil Koirala. The SAARC Finance Ministers meeting was followed by the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Development Fund Governing Council.
The meetings assessed the progress made in the implementation of recommendations of the Sixth Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers held on 20th August 2013 in Colombo, Sri Lanka including SAARC Development Fund (SDF). It also discussed on the cooperation in trade, economic and financial sectors among the SAARC member states and the way forward for allowing greater flow of financial capital and intra-regional long-term investments.
Dasho Lam Dorji, Finance Secretary led the Bhutanese delegation. In his statement, Finance Secretary urged all the member states to develop a holistic and comprehensive package of actionable measures by exploring the whole range of partnership available for deepening the regional cooperation. He also highlighted the status of macro-economic developments in Bhutan over the recent past and reported the status of cooperation in the field of financial sector pursued by Bhutan under the aegis of SAARC.
In discussion on establishment of SAARC Development Bank, the leader of Bhutanese delegation opined that consideration of a SAARC Development Bank is premature at this stage since SDF is just evolving and needs the support and guidance of all member states in its journey. Following which the member states directed the SDF CEO to prepare implementation strategic plan of SDF activities within the time frame of six months. Further, the meeting emphasized to strengthen the existing social window of SDF and expedite in operationalizing the economic and infrastructure windows.
The Eighth Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries will be held in Pakistan in 2016.
The Bhutanese delegation included representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance.
On the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13th to 16th July, 2015
The Third International Conference on Financing for Development began on the 13th of July 2015 at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Conference was opened by the UN Secretary-General H. E Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and the Conference elected the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, H.E. Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, as the President of the Conference. At the opening, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an ambitious and universally inclusive financing framework to implement the Sustainable Development Goal and highlighted the need for a social compact for greater social protection and a package for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Hon’ble Finance Minister, Lyonpo Namgay Dorji led Bhutan’s delegation to the Conference which comprised of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat. In his statement during the general debate, Lyonpo emphasized the need to redouble efforts by countries around the world as well as international institutions, particularly assistance for the LDCs, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals towards a new era. Lyonpo also highlighted the unique development challenges faced by countries like Bhutan and appealed to the world to work together to eradicate poverty by the next decade.
Hon’ble Lyonpo Namgay Dorji also participated in the Round Table Meeting on the theme “Ensuring policy coherence and an enabling environment at all levels for sustainable development”.
The Conference is expected to end on the 16th of July with the adoption of an outcome document which will be known as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The document is expected to support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Bank of Bhutan Limited (BoBL) opened a new extension branch office at Regional Revenue and Customs Office (RRCO), Thimphu on July 3, 2015.
This is the second extension of BOBL within the Department’s premises after RRCO, Phuntsholing branch which was opened on 24 March 2015 to facilitate efficient payment of taxes by taxpayers to RRCO and daily deposit of government revenues.
The main objective of extending branch network is to take banking services closer to general public for payment of taxes and reduce the risk of cash handling. Services provided at the BoBL branch counter also include facilities like accepting deposits up to Nu. 100,000 and withdrawals up to Nu.20,000. The branch will also provide necessary information on matters related to collecting and clearing of cheques.
15th June 2015: The opening of the Training of Trainers on Sales Tax Modules regarding the new system RAMIS was conducted by CMC for sales tax officials from the headquarter and the regional offices. The training was also attended by IT officials of DRC.
Conducted by: CMC (Developers)
Date: 15th June to 19th June.
Venue: Conference Hall RRCO Phuentsholing
His Excellency Mr. Gautam Bambawale, Ambassador of India to Bhutan has handed a cheque for Rs. 1,756 million to Hon’ble Lyonpo Namgay Dorji, Minister of Finance this afternoon. The cheque is on account of Excise Duty Refund (EDR) for the year 2013.
The claim for the EDR 2013 was verified by a six member delegation from GoI lead by Dr. P.K Mohanty, Director General, Directorate General of Inspection, Customs and Central Excise (DGICCE) in November 2014.
As the EDR constitutes about 7.05% of the total revenue for the financial year 2014-2015, it will improve the fiscal position and contribute towards INR reserve build-up.
The release of EDR by GoI is timely as it will help in implementing the planned activities for FY 2014-2015 which will end by 30th June 2015.
The verification process for the refund of EDR for 2014 amounting to Rs. 1,943 million has been also completed. This will be released during FY 2015-16.
The Government of India refunds the Excise Duty Refund on annually basis as per Article VIII of the Bilateral Trade and Transit Agreement which states that “Each of the Governments agrees to provide appropriate refund to be mutually decided annually in respect of excise duties on goods of its origin exported to the other”.
The government of India (GoI) 22 May 2015 declared a total excise duty refund of Nu 1.943B (billion) to Bhutan for 2014. This is an increase of Nu 187M (million) from the previous year. Bhutan received Nu 1.756B as excise duty refund for 2013. A delegation led by the director general of directorate general of inspection, customs and central excise, India, PK Mohanty, visited Bhutan for verification and quantification of the exercise duty refund claim of Bhutan for 2014 from May 13 to 22. Bhutanese delegation was led by Yonten Namgyel, director of revenue and customs.
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