The budget is not merely an account of incomes and expenditures. It presents the tax, duty, excise and other financial policies the government will adopt for the whole one year.

“In the absence of the budget, the investors are shying away from announcing new investment plans and industries are in confusion,” says Kush Kumar Joshi, president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI)

For example, the manufacturers of cigarettes, alcohol and beer have started to cut down their productions.

“I recently visited a big factory. The factory that used to keep three months’ stock of good was producing goods for only three or four days. They are anxious about the excise policy the new budget will announce and are not producing in normal fashion,” said Secretary Baskota.

“Everybody seems to be in wait and see mood. Even on the eve of Dashain, the imports have not picked up. No import and no production means no revenue.”