Grameenphone pays BTRC Tk 10 billion on court orders in audit dispute

Grameenphone has paid Tk 10 billion to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission or BTRC following a Supreme Court order on a Tk 125.8 billion audit dispute.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Feb 2020, 03:04 PM
Updated : 23 Feb 2020, 03:04 PM

Hossain Sadat, head of regulatory affairs at Grameenphone, handed a pay-order to BTRC Chairman Jahurul Haque at the regulator’s headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday.

The mobile telecom operator’s “realisation that it must pay the money is good news”, Jahurul said.

But Sadat said the company still has objection to the BTRC’s claim and hopes to settle the issue “through discussions under a legal process”.

A three-month deadline set by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for a payment of Tk 20 billion by Grameenphone to the BTRC is ending on Monday.

After hearing the telecom firm’s plea for a review of the decision, the top appeals court on Thursday said the company must pay Tk 20 billion.

The court ordered the company to deposit half of the sum before it passes the next order on Monday.

"There has been a misunderstanding for quite a long time. Today, the constitution and the Supreme Court order have been maintained. The government has received some of the dues, which is actually the people’s money,” Jahurul said.

“I thank Grameenphone for paying up. They have paid as they realised after a long time that they must pay the money,” he added.

Sadat said they paid the money because they “respect the law of the land”.

“We have been saying that we have a little objection to the audit and we still hold the same position. We think this dispute can be settled through discussions under a legal process. We believe we can enter a framework,” he added.

The BTRC has applied several actions to restrict Grameenphone’s operations.

The regulator’s efforts to pile the pressure on the operator by barring the largest telecom operator from further expansion include denial of no-objection certificates and other approvals, such as for recycling of number series.

It has also threatened Grameenphone, the Bangladesh unit of Norway’s Telenor, with the appointment of an administrator and cancellation of its licence.

Jahurul said the BTRC has “never considered Grameenphone as a rival”.

“We always considered them as an operator and were ready to give whatever they deserved. Some of the works were stopped due to legal issues. We never wanted Grameenphone to be subjected to any harm,” he said.

The BTRC chief said the telecom firm might have thought that it would get the dues reduced by the court or make profits by delaying the payment.

“It is good news for us that Grameenphone has finally grasped  a proper understanding of the issue at stake,” the BTRC chief said.

He urged the operator to sit with the regulator whenever it faces any issues. “It will be a waste of time if they don’t,” he added.

“BTRC will follow the court order and never defy the law,” the BTRC chief said when journalists asked him about the NOCs.

Sadat said the company wanted to continue discussions to reach a settlement.

“Some ongoing problems are hampering our business, but we believe we will be able to provide expected services to the customers with the help of the related authorities,” he added.