The government has seized control of Smart Telecom Private Limited (STPL) after the telecommunication company failed to pay permit and service operation dues.

A board meeting of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) on Monday decided to take forward the process of asset management after the telecommunication company’s licence was revoked for failing to clear its dues.

According to NTA director and spokesperson Santosh Paudel, the telecommunication company had accumulated unpaid dues of Rs4.19 billion up to the fiscal year 2018-19. Following that, the company failed to file audits for three years.

“We have written a letter to STPL to hand over services and property to the government following the non-payment of the dues,” Paudel said.

Prior approval of the government is mandatory for the sale of shares and assets of Smart Telecom. The authority had decided to cancel the company’s licence for non-payment of dues on July 29, 2019.

The authority had however made an arrangement of allowing the company to pay their dues in installments by extending the deadline. After the company was still unable to clear its dues, the authority revoked its license.