The court has ruled that if Grameenphone does not pay the money by the new deadline, the High Court's moratorium on the BTRC’s audit claim will be lifted.
A six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order on Monday.
Grameenphone paid Tk 10 billion to BTRC on Sunday following a Supreme Court order on a Tk 125.8 billion audit dispute.
A previous three-month deadline set by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for a payment of Tk 20 billion by Grameenphone to the BTRC ends on Monday.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state while Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib stood for BTRC. Lawyers AM Amin Uddin and Mohammad Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury appeared on behalf of Grameenphone.
BTRC had claimed Tk 125.8 billion in 'unpaid dues' to the telecom regulator from the country’s leading mobile network operator last year.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court later ordered the company to pay the regulator Tk 20 billion in three months.
Grameenphone subsequently paid Tk 10 billion as part of the first instalment to BTRC on Sunday in line with the order.
The three-month deadline set by the apex court ends on Monday.
But the company’s lawyer Amin sought another six months to pay the remaining Tk 10 billion to BTRC after submitting the pay-slip to the court.
He cited the five-month deadline fixed by the High Court for another telecom carrier, Robi, to pay Tk 1.38 billion to BTRC in ‘unpaid bills’ when seeking the extension.
“We are granting three months. If Grameenphone does not pay the money by that time, the High Court's moratorium on the BTRC’s audit claim will be lifted,” the chief justice said.
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, the two firms turned to the judiciary for a resolution.
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.