In Nepal, no government can scrap the licenses of publications. That's actually written in the 1990 ko Constitution That's because we learnt in the Panchayat days how arbitrary government's powers are when it wants to punish those who it does not like. BUT, but and but sadly that RIGHT is not extended to Nepali businesses. The government can just scrap licenses of private limited companies which it does not like and against which it can hurl flimsiest of charges which it need only assert and not even prove publicly. Yes, in this case, (see below) Lumbini Overseas might indeed have been guilty. But that verdict of guilt should have come after having followed a due process in a Nepali court of law. At the very least, such a verdict should NOT have come from the mantralya headed by a mantri (Raghuji Panth) who's got his own axe to grind against this particular Nepali firm. A verdict from a court of law would also have provided a general template on how to deal with such cases in future. But let's face it, NO minister in Nepal has the right to define what constitutes "legal" and what constitutes "illegal". If mantralaya ands mantris were in the business of defining those terms, then why the hell do we need the courts? This sort of arbitrary action taken by Panth's ministry WITH NO RECOURSE TO APPEAL sets a very bad precedent for anyone who wants to do any business in Nepal. I mean, this sort of thing just raises the unpredictability factor anyone who wants to do any business in Nepal. Who knows, the mantri might get angry with you, and, if so, his mantralaya would find all sorts of excuse to harrass you and soon you'll be out of business altogether. It's hard to believe that out of 400-plus 'manpower agencies', only Lumbini gets punished for its putative crime. oohi ashu ***** Govt scraps licence of Lumbini overseas The Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) cancelled the licence of controversial Lumbini Overseas Pvt Ltd, one of the manpower agencies permitted to export Nepali workers to South Korea. According to reports, the ministry took the decision on Tuesday following findings that it was involved in sending workers to South Korea illegally. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) along with the Revenue Investigation Department found that the overseas company had evaded taxes worth Rs 12 million. Among the 5,583 Nepali workers sent abroad for foreign employment, the agency has no record of 1,720 workers. THE END