NBR instructs banks to freeze mobile operator Robi’s accounts

The National Board of Revenue or NBR has instructed banks to freeze accounts maintained by Robi Axiata.

In a letter sent to the top officials of banks on Monday, the NBR claimed that Robi evaded about Tk 190 million in VAT and supplementary duty.

Robi became the second largest telecom operator in Bangladesh after Grameenphone, thanks to the merger of Robi and Airtel in 2016.

The letter by the NBR’s Large Taxpayer Unit or LTU asked the banks to freeze accounts for the next three workdays.

It says the telecom company has not paid Tk 187.29 million in VAT and supplementary duty on real estate rents, SIM cards and services provided to the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Ltd.

“They have to pay VAT like other operators,” Commissioner Matiur Rahman, who heads the LTU, told bdnews24.com on Monday.

Describing the move to freeze bank accounts as the ‘first step’, Rahman said they will adopt all legal measures.

Robi denied dodging taxes. “This is not tax evasions, rather it’s a long ongoing dispute between us and the NBR,” Ekram Kabir, vice president of communications and corporate responsibility at Robi, told bdnews24.com.

Referring to the provision of a hearing in line with the VAT law, he said, “It’s really unfortunate that we did not get a chance for a hearing. And some of the issues the letter mentions are sub-judice.”