KATHMANDU, Feb 27: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to issue a stay order to stop the motorcycle-based ride-sharing service, Pathao Nepal Pvt. Ltd, in Kathmandu.
A division bench of justices Kedar Prasad Chalise and Anil Kumar Sinha refused to issue stay order against the ride-sharing service being provided. In response to a writ petition filed by Shyam Kumar Shrestha which claimed that Pathao is being operated illegally and evading taxes, and asked the court to stop the service immediately, a division bench of justices Kedar Prasad Chalise and Anil Kumar Sinha refused to issue a stay order.
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“This issue needs to be settled at the time of the final decision therefore there is no need to issue a stay order,” the bench observed. For Tuesday’s hearing, the bench had summoned the plaintiff and the defendants -- the Ministry of Industry and Supply, the Department of Industry and the Office of the Company Registrar.
The petitioner has claimed that Pathao has been operating in violation of the foreign direct investment certificate provided by the government, has evaded taxes and demanded that Pathao’s operating license be revoked.
In response to a complaint against Pathao, the Inland Revenue Department had started investigation into the alleged Value Added Tax (VAT) evasion.
Earlier, Republica had reported on another ride-sharing company Tootle’s defrauding of riders by collecting VAT but not paying the same to the government.
