Siena:The High Court has mandated the swift recovery of Tk 666 crore in unpaid taxes from Grameen Kalyan, an organization founded by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former interim government Chief Adviser. This directive includes actions by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to address the tax liabilities.
According to United News of Bangladesh, The court's decision follows the dismissal of separate writ petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan, challenging the NBR's tax demands for the assessment years 2012-13 through 2016-17. The High Court, in its observations, characterized the case as a 'classic case of tax evasion by keeping a settled issue pending'.
Initially, Grameen Kalyan had filed two writ petitions in 2017 against the NBR’s tax demands. After preliminary hearings, the High Court issued a rule and temporarily stayed the tax demand decisions. However, after reassessment, the High Court dismissed these petitions on August 4, 2024, upholding the tax commissioner's decision.
The August 4 verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice SM Moniruzzaman. Subsequently, on August 29, 2024, another bench recalled this verdict and referred the case to the Chief Justice, leading to a new bench being appointed.
On September 10, the High Court ruled that Grameen Kalyan must settle the tax amount claimed by the NBR. This ruling was given by a bench of Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Mia and Justice Rezaul Karim. The court stated that the writ petitions lacked legal standing.
Representing Dr. Yunus in court were Barristers Abdullah Al Mamun and Fida M Kamal, while Deputy Attorney General Abdus Samad Azad represented the state. Barrister Mamun indicated they plan to appeal the verdict before the Appellate Division after receiving the full judgment text.
Deputy Attorney General Azad explained the background, noting an agreement where Grameen Telecom was to provide financial assistance to Grameen Kalyan, compensating them with 42.50 percent of profits from dividends on Grameen Kalyan's shares. The tax authorities later discovered that Grameen Kalyan had not deducted tax at source on these profits, leading to the reassessment and subsequent legal challenges.