BTRC refuses Tk 1 billion from Grameenphone

BTRC has refused a Tk 1 billion upfront payment from Grameenphone as part of around Tk 125.8 billion in dues the telecom regulator claims following an audit, the mobile phone operator says.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 19 Feb 2020, 03:28 PM
Updated : 19 Feb 2020, 03:35 PM

The BTRC, or Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, says it cannot go beyond a top court order for the largest telecom operator to pay Tk 20 billion for now. 

The company proposed to make an adjustable deposit of Tk 1 billion to the BTRC and enter into a “good faith discussion towards a mutually acceptable framework, process and resolution”, Hossain Sadat, head of regulatory affairs at Grameenphone, told the media at a Dhaka hotel on Wednesday.  

“However, the BTRC did not accept the proposed deposit today,” he added.

Hossain Sadat

Besides Grameenphone, the BTRC demanded nearly Tk 8.7 billion from the second largest mobile phone operator Robi.  

The regulator has threatened the two operators with licence cancellation when it failed to make them pay despite repeated efforts.

As the BTRC did not agree to a proposal on settlement of the issue through arbitration, two firms moved court. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s bid to mediate through discussions with officials of the BTRC and Grameenphone also failed.

The High Court later froze for two months a lower court order requiring Grameenphone to clear the audit demand on Oct 17 last year.

But after the BTRC sought to appeal against the stay, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Nov 24 ordered Grameenphone to pay the regulator Tk 20 billion within three months.

Grameenphone subsequently asked for a review of the Supreme Court order and sought the court’s consideration to allow the firm to deposit around Tk 5.75 billion in 12 equal monthly instalments on Jan 26.

The latest development comes a day before the appeals court is set to hear the review petition.

Sadat said the offer to pay Tk 1 billion is not linked to the legal process.

“This initiative is meant to find a solution based on the merit of the audit claim and is therefore separate from the ongoing court proceedings,” he said.

The court has only stayed the realisation of the audit demand and not addressed the merit of the claim, according to him.

After the refusal of its offer by the BTRC, the firm will now set its next course of action following the outcome of the court hearings, he said.

Zakir Hossain Khan, a spokesman for the BTRC, said, “The BTRC cannot go beyond the court order on the Grameenphone audit issue. The commission is sincere about following the court order.”  

BTRC Chairman Jahurul Haque had said earlier this month that it would start the process to appoint an administrator to Grameenphone if it does not pay within the deadline, Feb 24, and if the court does not change its decision by the time.