The Industrial Area Management Limited has initiated the recovery process after the outstanding rent and service charges from industries operating in various industrial areas reached more than Rs 890 million. The Limited issued a notice on 25 Jestha, asking the industries operating in the concerned industrial areas to pay the outstanding amount within seven days. According to

Limited says - The High Court has ordered the collection of rent increase arrears since 2075. Limited, the arrears have increased due to non-payment of regular charges for land, buildings, electricity, water and other services provided for the operation of industries in the industrial area for a long time. The management says that some industries have not paid the charges despite repeated correspondence and requests. Of the outstanding amount, the highest amount of Rs 439.867 million is yet to be collected from industries in the Balaju industrial area. Next is the arrears of Rs 209.31 million from the Hetauda industrial area and Rs 101.48 million from the Patan industrial area.

The Butwal Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 45.785 crore, Pokhara Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 44.119 crore, Bhaktapur Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 17.168 crore and Nepalgunj Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 13.425 crore. The Dharan Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 7.131 crore, Gajendra Narayan Singh Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 6.332 crore and Birendranagar Industrial Zone has an arrears of Rs 6.62 lakh, the Limited has stated.

The Limited says that the non-collection of arrears has directly affected the construction, maintenance and provision of necessary infrastructure within the industrial zone and the services provided to the industry. 'Despite repeated requests, difficulties have arisen in service delivery and infrastructure management due to non-payment of fees,' the notice states. The Limited has warned that action will be taken against industries that do not pay the outstanding amount within the stipulated seven-day period and the outstanding amount will be recovered as per the terms of the agreement and prevailing rules. 

Some industrialists have already paid the outstanding amount related to the disputed rent increase, while others have not, said the Limited's General Manager Padam Wali. 'Some have paid, some have not. In cases where they have paid, the matter is over. In cases where they have not, we will proceed as per the rules and procedures,' he said.

Ejaz Alam, President of the Federation of Nepal Industrial Zone Industries, claims that they have not paid and will not pay the increased rent amount from 2075 to 2079 BS. He says that the Supreme Court's decision should be implemented in the dispute regarding the increase in rent in industrial zones. The Industrial Zone Management Limited had increased the rent in various industrial zones in 2079 BS with effect from 2075 BS, including an increase of 686 percent in the Balaju Industrial Zone. Alam said that the dispute started with this decision. ‘In 2075, the rent was increased according to the industrial sector. In Balaju, the rent was increased by 686 percent. That is when the dispute started,’ said Alam.

But the General Manager of the Limited, Wali, said that the disputed rent increase had been implemented since 2075 BS. Although the industrialists filed a case in the Supreme Court on this issue, the High Court had previously ruled that the increased rent from 2075 BS should be collected. ‘They went to the Supreme Court after the High Court ruled that the increased rent should be collected,’ he said. ‘Implementing the High Court’s decision, we billed accordingly, conducted audits and have even paid taxes to the government.’

Wali says that taxes have already been paid to the government based on the income received by implementing the High Court’s decision. ‘We had shown income by implementing the High Court’s decision. We have already paid taxes on that basis. After paying taxes, the organization is in a loss. The government should have refunded the amount that has already been earned or the taxes that have been paid,’ he said.

Industrialists say - The Supreme Court has said that we should pay only the rent increase after 2079 BS, we will not pay the rent before that Wali said that the High Court's decision was implemented in the absence of an interim order from the Supreme Court. He said that the Supreme Court later explained that the increased rent should be collected from 2079 BS, instead of saying that it cannot be collected. "The Supreme Court did not say that the increased rent should not be collected. But it said that the increased rent should be collected from 2079 BS. The amount being sought to be collected now is the arrears of the increased rent," Wali said.

Alam claimed that the main demand of the industrialists is to implement the Supreme Court's decision. After the decision, both parties approached the Supreme Court for review, but no decision has been made so far.

"After the decision, they have also gone for review, we have also gone for review. But no decision has been made so far," he said. According to Alam, the Supreme Court had ruled in Ashar 2079 BS that the increased rent would be implemented from 2079 BS. Therefore, the industrialists claim that trying to recover the arrears by saying that it was implemented since 2075 BS is against the court order.

‘The Supreme Court has said on 12 Chaitra 2081 that the increased rent from 2079 BS will remain in effect. Trying to raise it from 2075 BS is counterproductive,’ Alam said. The industrialists have already paid the previous rent for the period from 2075 BS to 2079 BS. But they are adamant that they will not pay the additional rent increased during that period. ‘We have already paid the old rent from 2075 BS to 2079 BS. But we are not in favor of paying the increased rent for the period in between,’ he said.

Alam said that the federation has already written to member industries saying that the increased rent implemented after 2079 BS should be paid by the industrialists. While the case is going on in the Supreme Court, they have submitted the details of the income they have paid to the government as per the High Court’s decision and said that they will only collect the rent from 2079 BS, so Wali said that a review application has been filed and a case has been registered.