Charges framed against ETV Chairman

A Dhaka Court frames charges against Abdus Salam in a tax evasion case.

A Dhaka Court on Thursday framed charges against Ekushey Television Chairman Abdus Salam in a tax evasion case.

After framing charges in presence of the accused, Judge Zahurul Haque of Senior Special Judge's Court fixed Nov 29 to record deposition in the case.

Salam, now out on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice after the charges were read out to him.

Earlier, Deputy Tax Commissioner of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Mohmmad Bajlur Rahman had filed the case on Aug 12.

According to the case statement, Salam concealed over Tk 176.4 million in his income tax statement and also evaded over Tk 91.7 million taxes since FY2007 to FY2012.

Meanwhile, Abu Sayed Sohel, Deputy Tax Commissioner of NBR Tax Zone-9 filed another case against Salam and ETV Managing Director Ashraful Alam on Mar 20 for not submitting their income tax returns.

According to this case, the duo did not submit their income tax returns from 2008 to 2011 within the stipulated time.

The petitioner also said the NBR served them notices on several occasions, but they did not appear before it to explain why they had failed to submit their returns on time.

Moreover, the duo also did not seek more time to submit their returns, the complainant alleged.

Judge Zahurul Haque of the Senior Special Judge's Court framed charges against them in the case on June 7, but the formal trial could not be initiated as the High Court ordered to stay the proceedings.