The Government of Nepal has set the goal of achieving a tax to GDP ratio of 23.5% by the financial year 2028/29 in order to reduce the financing gap for the achievement of the development goals. The importance of domestic revenues in financing sustainable development is increasing due to several factors: First, foreign direct investment in Nepal remains low. In 2024, 395.92 crore rupees of investments were planned, of which about 38% of the committed amounts were actually realized. Second, Nepal is on the verge of graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2026. This will significantly limit access to grant-based development finance and increase trade barriers. Finally, Nepal is also on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list, which could lead to further barriers to financial transactions and a further decline in foreign investment. While Nepal's tax to GDP ratio of 18.6% (fiscal year 2023/24) is above the regional average, but there are numerous challenges in tax system that are hindering an increase. These are evident in the 2023 Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) Assessment and in various national strategy documents, such as the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Strategy 2025-2030 and the Domestic Revenue Mobilization Strategy (strategy for mobilising domestic revenues). These medium- and long-term strategies also provide guidance for the reform of the Nepalese tax system. Objective The programme promotes Nepali tax administration and revenue policy to create the regulatory and technical assistance for sustainable economic development. It also supports the voluntary compliance of the tax administration by enhancing the effectiveness of the tax administration and by providing services to taxpayers. Approach To achieve its objective, the program focuses on the following three key result areas: - Output 1: The capacities of the MoF and the Tax Administration to design evidence-based revenue policy reforms for sustainable development have improved. - Output 2: The effectiveness of the tax administration has improved in terms of professional capacities and digital systems. - Output 3: Output 3: Services for taxpayers to promote an investment-friendly busi-ness environment have improved. This consultancy contract concentrates on the three BMZ-commissioned Outputs (1, 2 and some aspects of 3). Each output area comprises a tailored set of interlinked activities including analytical work; legal and policy advice; organisational development; and capacity. The programme cooperates with national authorities like Ministry of Finance (MoF), Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and private sector. The ultimate beneficiaries of the programme are the taxpayers of Nepal with the improved revenue policy and effective and efficient tax administration.

10015375-Public finance expertise for Nepal

Technical assistance (including short-term expert pool) for Revenue Sector Reform for Sustainable Development in Nepal This tender involves the supply and management of expert services to support the implementation of the program Revenue Sector Reform for Sustainable Development (RSRSD), Nepal implemented by GIZ. The programme objective is to support Nepali tax administration and revenue policy to create the regulatory and technical assistance for sustainable economic development. The RSRSD programme is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The programme cooperates with national authorities like Ministry of Finance (MoF), Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and private sectors. The services will be delivered through a pool of national and international short-term experts in form of technical and administrative services related to the three key BMZ -outputs of the project: - Output 1: The capacities of the MoF and the Tax Administration to design evidence-based revenue policy reforms for sustainable development have improved. - Output 2: The effectiveness of the tax administration has improved in terms of professional capacities and digital systems. - Output 3: Service for taxpayers to promote an investment-friendly business environment have improved. The contractor"s services will follow the objectives of the project and support its implementation in three output areas. The key activities to be supported by the tender include: Support for Revenue Policy - Expert and process advice to the MoF and the tax administration on cost-benefit analyses of tax reforms, including economic, social and environmental impacts (ex-post/ex-ante) - Supporting the MoF and the Tax Administration in improving revenue forecasting models - Technical and process consulting for the MoF and the tax administration on the qualitative analysis of tax expenditure (economic, social and/or ecological impacts) - Preparation of studies for the MoF on the further development of carbon tax and environmental taxation, e.g. in the transport sector - Expert and process advice for the MoF and the tax administration on the taxation of the digital economy - Support Ministry of Finance in reviewing the national tax legislation and making amendments to the same to make it aligned with the reform agenda of the government. Support for Professional Capacities and Digital Systems - Process and technical advice to the tax administration on the implementation of the BPR reform strategy, on detailed system requirements for specifications, adaptation and implementation as well as accompanying process management advice - Training of staff of the MoF and subordinate authorities on selected tax topics (e.g. transfer pricing, tax expenditure analysis, revenue forecasting, cybersecurity, international tax standards) - Process consulting and capacity development of the MoF and subordinate authorities to anchor specialized training courses - Expert and process advice to the tax administration on tax audits, including digitization of tax audits and development of standardized manuals and guidelines for risk-based tax audits Support to Taxpayers to make Investment Friendly Business Environment - Development and implementation of standardized training modules for taxpayers in cooperation with the tax administration and the private sector - Upscaling help desk functions for taxpayers in local tax and trade offices and the private sector - Development and implementation of training courses for female entrepreneurs on general financial knowledge and digital management skills Cross-cutting activities - Support in programme"s ongoing communication activities - Conduct videography of programme success stories Tasks of the pool manager - Manage two short-term expert pools (administrative, financial, budget, reporting, monitoring, quality assurance) All documents (e.g. reports, studies, trainings, analyses, assessments, strategies) have to be provided in English.