Grameen Telecom has to deposit Tk50cr to NBR for tax appeal: HC
The writ was filed after the NBR declined to waive Tk250 crore tax it sought from Grameen Telecom
The High Court has ordered Grameen Telecom Trust Chairman Dr Muhammad Yunus to deposit Tk50 crore to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on behalf of the company, and file an appeal against the income tax claim for the tax years 2011 to 2013
The High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir passed the order on Monday rejecting a writ petition seeking an order for depositing 25 percent of the money
The writ petition was filed by the Nobel laureate and four officials of the trust.
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In its verdict, the High Court said Dr Yunus has to pay the money according to the law.
In November 2020, the NBR sent a notice to the Grameen Kalyan Trust demanding income tax of about Tk 250 crore for the two years from 2011 to 2013.
But Dr Yunus sought a tax waiver citing that they had no money in the fund, the lawyer for the government, Assistant Attorney General Barrister Tahmina Poli told reporters.
"But at that time they had about Tk350 crore to Tk400 crore in one account. After the NBR issued a notice asking for the money in the account, the Grameen Telecom filed a writ petition challenging the notice," the lawyer added.
The court had also issued a rule on why the notice of hearing of the writ should not be called illegal.
Over the past three years, the case has traversed through different courts and reached the relevant bench of the High Court which dismissed the writ petition today.
