KATMANDU, May 11 -- In what smacks of crony capitalism at work, ruling Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has hosted a grand reception at the house of Niraj Gobinda Shrestha, one of the former owners of the Ncell telecommunications company. The party was organized on the occasion of Dahal and his wife Sita's 50th wedding anniversary.

Ncell stands accused of not paying over Rs 39 billion in capital gains tax (CGT) even years after its owners sold their stakes to Axiata and other companies.

The Supreme Court had ruled that the private telecommunications company should pay billions more in CGT to the government. Ncell, however, filed an appeal claiming that the tax assessment by the government's Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) w...