Kathmandu — Ncell, Nepal’s largest privately invested telecommunications service provider, paid nearly Rs 5 billion to the Government of Nepal on Wednesday as part of the renewal fee for its mobile service licence. With this latest payment, the company’s total contribution to the government through taxes, fees and other payments has reached nearly Rs 380 billion.

Ncell has been operating in Nepal for more than two decades. The company is now fully owned, directly and indirectly, by non-resident Nepali businessman Satish Lal Acharya and his wife Bhavana Singh Shrestha. Ncell currently provides essential telecommunications services to more than 14 million Nepalis.

The company’s timely payment of its tax obligations and its record of maintaining a clear account with the government, with no outstanding dues apart from disputed tax liabilities under legal consideration, indicate that its financial capacity is not as weak as has been suggested in some quarters. A report prepared by Tankamani Sharma Dangal on Ncell’s share transaction had raised questions about Acharya’s technical, financial and managerial capacity.

The latest payment further demonstrates the company’s financial strength, investment capacity and financial health. Of the amount deposited, Rs 425 million represents the principal amount of the remaining instalment of the licence renewal fee. The payment also includes Rs 64.9260273 million in interest for the 328-day period from September 7, 2025, to the end of the Nepali fiscal year 2082/83, and Rs 6.5321917 million in interest for the 33-day period from the first day of fiscal year 2083/84 to September 2.

Ncell had already paid the instalment and interest due up to September 6, 2025. On September 6 last year, the company paid Rs 329 million, while it had previously paid Rs 2 billion on June 29, 2025. The government had allowed Ncell to pay the Rs 20 billion mobile service licence renewal fee in four instalments. In September 2024, the Cabinet decided to charge 10 percent annual interest on the remaining instalments.

Nearly Rs 380 Billion Contributed to Government, No Outstanding Dues

Ncell, described as the largest foreign direct investment to have entered Nepal over the past two decades, has made a substantial contribution to the government treasury since its establishment. Revenue collected under various headings has not only provided the government with a stable source of income but has also created an important financial foundation for development expenditure. With the rapid expansion of digital services in recent years, the telecommunications sector has increasingly become an important source of government revenue.

Telecommunications companies in Nepal typically contribute 50 to 60 percent of their income to the government through various taxes and fees. Data show that Ncell had contributed approximately Rs 375 billion to the government in taxes and various fees from its establishment through the first nine months of the last fiscal year. The payments include licence fees, renewal fees, royalties, telecommunications service charges, income tax and other government levies. With the latest instalment of the licence renewal fee paid this week, Ncell’s total contribution has reached nearly Rs 380 billion.

 Following a change in control at Ncell resulting from the transfer of shares in Reynolds Holdings between its then 80-percent investor Axiata Investment UK and Spectrlite UK on December 1, 2023, Ncell submitted separate financial statements covering the periods before and after the change in ownership in accordance with Section 57 of the Income Tax Act, 2058. The company paid Rs 1.69 billion in tax liabilities to the Large Taxpayers Office in Harihar Bhawan, Lalitpur, on February 26, 2024. Ncell has also committed to the Government of Nepal that if any additional tax liability arises from the transaction, it will pay the amount determined in accordance with the law.

 Ncell’s 80-percent foreign shareholding was previously traded at Rs 144 billion, while it has already been established that the latest transaction took place at a value lower than that amount. Both the buyer and seller have publicly stated the transaction value, and the share agreement has also been submitted to the relevant regulatory authorities. If any wrongdoing is found in the transaction, the government can investigate and take action in accordance with the law. However, informed observers say the government’s intervention in what was essentially a commercial transaction and its decision to restrict the latest share transaction have raised concerns.

With regard to taxes, documents issued by the Large Taxpayers Office indicate that Ncell has no outstanding tax liability other than disputed tax amounts currently under consideration before the Department of Revenue, the Revenue Tribunal and the courts. There has nevertheless been continued discussion over claims that Ncell failed to pay capital gains tax related to the TeliaSonera and Axiata share transactions. The company says such claims are incorrect.

 Ncell paid a total of Rs 47,009,943,297 in capital gains tax related to the share transactions on different dates and in instalments. The payments were made as follows:

The company’s tax contribution reached a historic level in 2019, when Ncell paid Rs 76 billion in taxes to the government in a single fiscal year, according to government records.

Who Is Ncell Investor Satish Lal Acharya?

Satish Lal Acharya, a Singapore-based businessman of Nepali origin, has come into the spotlight in recent months. Operating businesses in several countries outside Nepal, Acharya is known as a businessman who prefers to work behind the scenes rather than seek public attention. Unlike some Nepali businessmen who have previously invested in Ncell, he is described as a businessperson focused more on work and results than on public visibility.

 Acharya has been associated with Ncell since 2016, but he became an unusually prominent figure following developments in 2023. Nepal’s telecommunications law does not allow a foreign investor to hold more than 80 percent ownership in the telecommunications sector. Accordingly, when TeliaSonera exited Ncell and Axiata entered in 2016, Acharya acquired a 20-percent stake in Ncell through his wife, Bhavana Singh Shrestha.

 In 2023, through Spectrlite UK, in which he had invested, Acharya successfully acquired Axiata’s 80-percent stake in Reynolds Holdings, Ncell’s parent company. This effectively made him the 100-percent indirect investor in one of Nepal’s largest multinational companies.

However, the success and prominence that came with the investment have now become a major challenge for Acharya. The eldest son of renowned physician Dr. I. L. Acharya, Satish Lal has been involved in managing telecommunications companies across the Asia-Pacific region and Africa for many years.

 His business is now regarded as one of the major enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region, with a presence in 13 countries. Acharya operated mobile services in six countries—Cambodia, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Congo—and, after the businesses became profitable, sold the companies in all six countries as part of a plan to expand his investments into Nepal and other markets.

 In addition to his telecommunications businesses, Acharya has established offices in 32 countries, providing computer hardware and software as well as information technology services.