Kathmandu-After information about pre-budget tax rate leak surfaced, records show that 1,396 BYD electric vehicles entered Nepal at lower tax rates within just one month.

A collusion between officials at the Ministry of Finance and Customs Department led to the  alleged leak of sensitive budget information, which is estimated to have cost the state over Rs 1 billion.

As questions mounted both from the public and lawmakers, the Ministry of Finance sought to douse the controversy with a statement after markets closed on Tuesday evening. Nonetheless, there are factual inaccuracies in the clarification itself, which also seems to twist customs data while defending the importer.

Here are three key discrepancies in the Finance Minister's Secretariat's explanation:

1.The Question Raised and the Explanation Given Do Not Match

The Secretariat argued that BYD imported vehicles after receiving information from the investigation committee rather than obtaining the committee's report. It further claimed that 4,317 vehicles were imported between Jestha 1 and 14 last year, compared with only 2,764 vehicles during the same period this year.

However, this does not address the core concern. The issue is not the total number of electric vehicles imported. It is the fact that a single company, BYD, accounted for 1,396 of the 2,764 vehicles cleared during the two weeks before the budget. More than half of all electric vehicles imported in that period belonged to one brand.

The key question remains unanswered: How was a single company able to import such an unusually large volume of vehicles within a short period without prior knowledge of impending tax changes? Instead of addressing this concern, the Secretariat shifted the focus to broader import figures.

2 .The Finance Ministry Understates BYD Imports Through Rasuwa Customs

The Secretariat's statement claims that more than 200 BYD vehicles entered through Rasuwa Customs during the 14 days before the budget.

Customs records from the ASYCUDA system tell a different story. They show that 472 BYD vehicles were cleared through Rasuwa Customs during that period.

The records include:

• 20 Atto 1 vehicles under declaration M5401 on May 17

• 30 Atto 1 vehicles under declaration M5400 on May 17

• 15 Sealion 7 vehicles under declaration M5309 on May 15

• 20 Sealion 7 vehicles under declaration M5679 on May 20

• 100 Atto 2 vehicles under declaration M5733 on May 20

• 100 Atto 2 vehicles under declaration M5677 on May 20

• 50 Atto 2 vehicles under declaration M5998 on May 25

• 17 Atto 1 vehicles under declaration M5955 on May 25

• 35 Sealion 7 vehicles under declaration M6127 on May 27

• 23 Atto 1 vehicles under declaration M6118 on May 27

• 60 Atto 1 vehicles under declaration M6114 on May 27

• 2 Atto 3 vehicles under declaration M5999 on May 25

Together, these entries total 472 vehicles, more than double the figure implied by the Finance Ministry. Despite Rasuwa Customs being at the centre of questions surrounding pre budget clearances, the Secretariat failed to disclose brand wise details and instead provided a vague figure of "more than 200 vehicles".

3.A Company That Imported 30 Vehicles Was Blamed for 200

Customs records show that Laxmi E Mobility cleared 30 Kai EQ4 vehicles through Rasuwa Customs on May 27 under declaration number M6192.

However, the clarification issued by the Finance Minister's Secretariat states that Laxmi E Mobility imported 200 Kai vehicles through Rasuwa Customs.

The discrepancy is significant. Official customs records show only 30 vehicles under that declaration, yet the Secretariat attributed imports of 200 vehicles to the company.

The error raises further questions about the accuracy of the Finance Ministry's explanation and whether figures were selectively presented to divert attention from the unusually high volume of BYD imports before the budget announcement.