The Supreme Court (SC) has revoked the law formulated by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) prohibiting commercial buildings from charging parking fees.
The constitutional bench of SC including Chief Justice (CJ) Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, and Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Sushma Lata Mathema and Kumar Regmi has revoked the KMC’s law prohibiting commercial complexes from charging parking fees.
“How to use a privately-owned building is an issue of the owner’s right. The Metropolitan City, therefore, cannot formulate laws specifying what to do or not do with them?” the SC order has stated.
KMC had prohibited commercial buildings from charging parking fees in July. The Complex Developer Leaser Association had then moved the SC against the KMC.
The SC order has revoked the different provisions of the Financial Act of KMC pointing that Article 228 of the Constitution does not seem to have given local bodies the right to curtail the rights of the applicants to use their properties or do business.
Posting on the social media KMC Mayor Balen Shah had said that private marts, restaurants, shopping complexes and malls, hospitals and other commercial buildings should provide free parking to the service-seekers. Citing the Financial Act of KMC, Shah had stated that the commercial complexes can charge parking fees only from those who do not visit the place for service.
The KMC had also classified areas inside the city into different categories and fixed separate hourly rates for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
It had also incentivized construction of buildings solely for parking purpose offering waiver of property tax for the first 10 years of construction of such buildings. Use of such buildings for other purpose after passing design for parking would be punished.
