The government is making preparations to renew Ncell's license by taking 10 percent annual interest on the outstanding renewal fee.
With this, even though the Ncell renewal controversy seems to be over, it has highlighted a glaring disparity in the government's treatment of private and public entities.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for today will take a final call on it, a government source has said.
Ncell had asked for five installments over five years for its third license renewal.
The government collected a renewal fee of Rs 20 billion from Nepal Telecom in last May, a payment that was originally due five years ago. Notably, no interest or penalty was imposed on the delayed payment.
According to sources, even though both companies should be treated equally, the government is prepared to do this only in the case of Ncell.
According to him, if the government so desires, it could also demand interest on the delayed payment of Rs 20 billion made by Nepal Telecom in May.
If this is the case, it is sure to be very difficult for the government company at a time when the annual income and profit are decreasing.
According to the existing law, Ncell submitted an application to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority in last May for renewal by paying an advance of Rs 4 billion as the first installment before the license expired.
The copany has long been saying that it has never received equal treatment from the government.
This will incur more financial burden to Ncell during the worsening situation of income which is continuously decreasing annually. It will also pave the way for the government to demand interest from Nepal Telecom.
This will also impact Nepal Telecom, whose revenue has declined by 25% over the past five years.
Both Ncell and Nepal Telecom are facing a continuous decline in revenue every year due to the impact of OTT.
The 20-year term of Ncell's GSM license is expiring on August 31.
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