THE NATION

The Chairperson of the Legislative Committee, Tshewang Lhamo, Member from Bongo-Chapchha Constituency presented the Committees recommendations on the Bill on the third reading of the Goods and Services Tax Bill of Bhutan 2020. After a much drawn out discussion on 6th February, the House couldn’t settle on a date of …

The DNT government in bringing about the GST Tax Bill may have unwittingly put in a provision in the Bill that clashes with the 2011 Supreme Court Tax verdict. The GST Bill in section 72 titled ‘Exemptions to manufacturer’ says, ‘On the recommendation of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry …

The National Council in its deliberation of the Penal Code Amendment Bill on 17th and 20th January saw an interesting proposal from the NC Legislative Committee on the age of consent. The proposal is to prevent the criminalizing young boys who may have had sex with a girl between 16 …

The Minister for Economic Affairs, Loknath Sharma, informed that the government shall not have any more State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the country, and this is being done to provide equal opportunities to both the SOEs and private sector. Lyonpo said this as a response to question raised by the Member …

According to a research carried out by the government, the ban or restriction of bar license has not resulted in a decrease in the consumption of alcohol. Instead, the country saw an increasing number of bars and wine shops and also increasing level of alcohol consumption. The government restricted the …

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) of flat 7 percent that will replace all indirect taxes like sales tax, which has 11 different rates in the Parliament. After the introduction of GST Bill in the Parliament, a consultation meeting was held on 17th January …

During the Question Hour session of the National Assembly, Member of Parliament (MP) from Bumdeling-Jamkhar asked the government to give an update on the status on the government’s popular pledge to offer free Wireless Fidelity (Wi-) and the Suung Joen Mobile Applications (App). Revisiting the pledges, the Information and Communications …

Most citizens welcomed the move but HRAB is not pleased The Draft Tourism Policy for Regional Tourists by the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) had indicated that regional tourists from India, Bangladesh and the Maldives, visiting Bhutan will be imposed a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF). The Finance Minister, Namgay Tshering, …

The National Assembly on 17th January discussed the ‘Supplementary Budget Appropriation’ and ‘Pay Revision’ amendment bills of Bhutan for the financial year 2019-2020. An approved budget of Nu 64.826 bn was brought into consolidation for the 2019-20 Five Year plan up from the total expenditure of Nu 61.197 bn in …

Private schools have now decided to rest its future on the demand and supply curve or the forces of economy. There will always be students and parents opting for private schools over government schools. According to the Association of Private Schools (APS), the government has no intention to change their …