KATHMANDU: The telecommunication company Ncell faces a critical deadline as its service license is set to expire on August 31.
To avoid losing its license, Ncell must pay the required renewal fee by this date.
According to telecommunications regulations, the renewal process should begin by paying the prescribed fee three months before the license’s expiration.
If Ncell fails to pay the renewal fee within the next 10 days, its license, which is essentially its service operation permit, will be revoked.
Ncell initially obtained its service operation license on August 15, 2004, and has been renewing it every 10 years, and then every 5 years.
This time, Ncell, which has a 25-year service operation license, must renew its license for the final 5 years.
Section 25 of the Telecommunications Act, 2053 clearly stipulates the license period and renewal process for telecommunication service providers.
If Ncell does not pay the full renewal fee by August 31, as stipulated in the gazette notice from 2069, its license will be revoked. Section 25(5) of the Telecommunications Act, 2053, provides that if the license is not renewed, it will be automatically canceled.
It mandates that any licensee wishing to renew their license must submit a renewal application to the authority within the specified period before the license expires.
Furthermore, sub-rule 2 of Rule 12 of the Telecommunication Regulations, 2054, requires that a report with the renewal fee be submitted to the authority before the deadline.
If the license is not renewed within this period, sub-rule 3 of Rule 12 allows for an application with an additional 15 percent fee, though the license will not be renewed if this provision is not followed.
According to a gazette notice published on May 14, 2012, the fee for renewing the mobile service provider’s license is Rs 20 billion 13 crore 27 lakh 50 thousand rupees.
On May 27, Ncell submitted an application for renewal with a total fee of Rs 4 billion, as reported by Telecommunication Authority spokesperson Santosh Paudel.
Ncell has requested the Authority to allow payment of the renewal fee in installments.
However, due to the lack of legal provisions for such an arrangement, the Telecommunication Authority has not made any decisions regarding this request.
A Council of Ministers meeting on February 18 decided that if Ncell submits a formal application and pays the renewal fee as required by law, the license will be renewed with the condition that the company’s assets will be maintained by the Government of Nepal.
The meeting also decided that action will be taken under Section 28 of the Act if the renewal conditions are not met.
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Prithvisubba Gurung, also the government spokesperson, has stated that installment payments for the renewal fee will not be permitted.
According to these regulations, a committee will be formed to determine the value of the company’s assets, set prices, operate the service, and auction the property.
He criticized the practice of paying renewal fees in installments and indicated that such practices should end, asserting that it will reduce bribery and corruption.
If Ncell does not pay the full renewal fee by August 31, as stipulated in the gazette notice from 2069, its license will be revoked. Section 25(5) of the Telecommunications Act, 2053, provides that if the license is not renewed, it will be automatically canceled.
Similarly, sub-rule 4 of Rule 12 of the Telecommunication Regulations, 2054, states that if the permit holder does not renew the permit within the deadline, it will not be renewed.
The Nepal Telecommunication Authority has previously revoked licenses for Hello Nepal, CG Telecom, Smart Telecom, and UTL due to non-payment of renewal fees.
The Authority is currently preparing to advance the auction process for Smart Telecom, which was recently acquired by Shatishlal Acharya, who also owns 80 percent of Ncell’s shares.
The Authority has established property management regulations to handle assets of companies whose licenses have expired and been canceled.
According to these regulations, a committee will be formed to determine the value of the company’s assets, set prices, operate the service, and auction the property.
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