Published : 10 Jan 2023, 09:13 PM
Updated : 10 Jan 2023, 09:13 PM
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has ordered Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink to pay a total of Tk 23.55 billion in various types of fees and Value Added Tax.
Grameenphone alone will have to pay Tk 11.65 billion while Robi will need to part with Tk 6.25 billion and Banglalink Tk 5.65 billion.
The Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the orders after hearing petitions filed by the telecom operators and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, who represented the state in the hearing, said the VAT was charged on spectrum fees, but the operators challenged the imposition of the tax in the High Court, which dismissed their pleas.
The companies then appealed against the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court, which also rejected their petitions. It means the companies will need to pay the VAT, said Amin Uddin.
The National Board of Revenue and the BTRC will collect the funds, he said. “We argued that the state can claim the VAT following the amendment of the law in 2011.”
Khandaker Reza-E-Raquib, the lawyer for the BTRC, said the companies owe the regulator Tk 22 billion in fees for licence renewal and revenue sharing, and around Tk 3 billion in dues.
He said they were waiting for a copy of the orders to know other details, such as the deadline for the payment. “What I can say is the payments must be made soon.”
The BTRC claimed 15 percent VAT from the operators against 2G spectrum allotted in 2012, but the companies moved the court, seeking waiver and starting the lengthy legal battle.
