Top court clears way for NBR to block bank accounts of Robi

The Appellate Division has blocked a High Court order in a new development that will allow the National Board of Revenue to freeze all bank accounts of telecom operator Robi for three days.

On Tuesday, a High Court bench stayed the letter that the NBR had circulated to all banks instructing them to freeze the accounts of Robi for three days.

Robi Axiata, the second largest telecom operator of the country, was due to pay Tk 190 million in taxes, according to NBR.

An appellate bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain heard the NBR’s writ petition against the High Court order on Thursday.

The top court has cleared the way for the NBR to proceed against Robi, said the state’s counsels.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Deputy Attorney General SM Moniruzzaman argued for the state against Robi’s counsel Advocate Tanjib-ul Alam.

A NBR delegation visited Robi’s corporate office on Feb 7, according to the NBR’s letters circulated on Feb 26.

The NBR team collected the company’s latest financial statements and documents related to sales of SIM cards.

Upon reviewing the documents, the NBR found that the company evaded about Tk 190 million in taxes and revenues, including value-added tax and supplementary duties.

Robi filed a writ petition against the NBR in the High Court on which Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir issued a rule on Feb 27.

The HC bench nullified the NBR letter and asked why it should not be deemed illegal and contrary to the constitution.

The NBR challenged the stay order which prompted Chamber Justice Hasan Foyez Siddiqui to sent the matter to the Appellate Division.

All telecom operators paid the VAT in due time but Robi did not follow suit. As an initial warning, there accounts have been frozen, according to the Large Taxpayers Unit of NBR.

Robi, however, said the entire battle was part of a long-running conflict with the NBR and brushes off the claim of unpaid taxes.

On Feb 9, NBR sent five letters to the mobile operator claiming it owed the government Tk 9.24 billion. On that, Robi said the NBR was making an unjust demand through baseless audits.