By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Jan. 4: Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dinesh Bhattarai has said that the Nepal Oil Corporation, which is a government-owned enterprise, is not a for-profit organisation but a service-oriented one.
Speaking at an interaction on 'Easy Supply of Petroleum Products and Automatic Pricing System' organised by Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal on Sunday, Bhattarai said that the Corporation was not profit-oriented so if the Corporation earned profit, it would go to the state's accounts and if there was a loss, the burden would be borne by the state.
He said that the Corporation was transparent as 99 per cent of the shares belonged to the government.

Stating that it could not be fully implemented as the implementation of automatic pricing system would further hurt the consumers, Secretary Bhattarai said that the prices have been adjusted so as not to affect the dimensions of the economy and people's lives.
He urged the journalists not to report in such a way that the people would have a negative attitude towards the Corporation as the NOC would increase the price of petroleum products.

Secretary Bhattarai said that the Corporation was a government body and served the people rather than making profit.
He said that even though the Corporation started automatic price system of petroleum products in 2071 BS, it could not be fully implemented.
He stressed on the need to rectify the shortcomings within the Corporation.

"Petroleum products are taxed more not only in Nepal but also in foreign countries. Even India has been charging 30 rupees more tax than Nepal. Nepal sells oil imported from India Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 cheaper than India," he said.
Managing Director of NOC Surendra Kumar Paudel said that the price of fuel had increased in the domestic market due to an increase in its price in the international market and more taxes imposed for revenue collection in Nepal.

The Corporation is currently facing a monthly loss of Rs. 3.70 billion due to the recent rise in fuel prices in the international market, he said.
He informed that the Corporation has not distributed bonus to the employees since 2058 BS. He informed that the Corporation was moving ahead with the work of other infrastructures along with the storage capacity as the storage capacity of fuel is low.