Kathmandu: Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has dismissed allegations that customs duty rates were altered after the introduction of the Economic Bill and that pages had disappeared from the original budget document, describing such reports as misleading and exaggerated.

Speaking at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, the Finance Minister stated that no policy-level changes or unauthorized modifications had been made to customs duties after the bill was presented to Parliament. He argued that a technical issue had been unnecessarily turned into a major controversy.

Responding to concerns raised by lawmakers, Wagle said that some customs provisions introduced during previous governments had merely been clarified and updated. According to him, the only substantive revision involved customs rates related to carriers used for transporting blood and vaccines, which he described as a humanitarian and technical matter rather than a policy change.

He also explained that several sections of the bill had been revised solely to improve language and clarity. Rejecting allegations of secret alterations within the Ministry of Finance, he maintained that the substance of the legislation had remained unchanged.

Addressing claims that 16 pages were missing from the budget-related documents, Wagle said the discrepancy resulted from formatting changes rather than any removal of content. Explaining the technical aspects of document preparation, he noted that even minor adjustments to formatting in a lengthy document can significantly affect the total page count.

"In a document exceeding 450 pages, even a one-millimeter change in column size can increase or decrease the total number of pages considerably," he said. "No words, figures, or content have been removed. Not a single unauthorized change has been made after the document was submitted to Parliament."

The Finance Minister acknowledged that media reports over the past week had generated public debate and raised concerns among lawmakers. However, he insisted that the controversy was based on misunderstanding rather than factual changes to the bill.

Wagle emphasized that the government remains committed to transparency and accountability in the budget process and reiterated that he is prepared to provide further clarification on any issue if required.

He concluded by urging stakeholders not to misinterpret technical or administrative adjustments and expressed confidence that the facts would ultimately dispel any confusion surrounding the matter.