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Grameenphone asked to pay Tk 125 billion in dues to BTRC, NBR
Mobile phone operator Grameenphone has been asked to pay over Tk 125 billion in dues to the BTRC and NBR.
Published : 2 April 2019, 05:31 PM
Updated : 2 April 2019, 06:37 PM
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC’s Chairman Jahurul Haque said the regulator sent a letter on Tuesday asking the telecom operator to pay the sum within 10 to 15 days.
He could not specify the amount but said it was “huge”.
A top BTRC official told bdnews24.com Grameenphone owes BTRC around Tk 85 billion and the National Board of Revenue or NBR more than Tk 40 billion.
The company had asked for a review last year after the dues had been found in an audit, the official said. The letter demanding the dues were sent after the review, he added.
Grameenphone has dismissed the demand, terming the notice “unfortunate”.
It said in a statement that it would make a full assessment to determine the appropriate course of action.
“Despite numerous interactions with the Regulator and extending our full cooperation to the auditors, it is very unfortunate to note that the demand note does not reflect our concerns,” Grameenphone said in the statement.
“Throughout the entire audit process we have pointed out the errors in the methodologies, procedure and substance of this audit exercise; however, our observations have gone unheeded. Grameenphone is a transparent company and adheres to the applicable laws of the land,” it added.
The telecom regulator asked Grameenphone to pay over Tk 30 billion in dues following an audit by a local firm in 2011 but the mobile operators moved the court which stayed the notice.
Jahurul had earlier told bdnews24.com that there would be interests on the amount as a considerable amount of time has passed since the audit had been done by the local firm.
The BTRC appointed a firm for fresh information system audit of Grameenphone in October, 2015.
The auditor cross-checked prices of products imported by the operator from its inception to 2015 with BTRC documents in line with the contract.
The BTRC, NBR, and other related agencies had checked revenue data shared by the operators.
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