Grameen Kalyan, an organisation owned by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, will have to pay Tk 666 crore in taxes claimed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), following the publication of the full text of a High Court verdict directing the organisation to settle the amount within the next three fiscal years.
The full verdict was published on Monday (October 12) after Justices Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Rezaul Karim of a High Court bench signed the judgment, according to relevant sources.
On September 10, the High Court rejected two writ petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan, removing the legal obstacles to the NBR's recovery of the disputed tax amount from the organisation.
Grameen Kalyan filed the two separate writ petitions with the High Court in 2017, challenging income tax demands for five assessment years, from 2012-13 to 2016-17, following a reassessment. After preliminary hearings, the court issued rules in connection with the petitions. A newly constituted High Court bench later heard the matter and discharged the rules.
Following the verdict, Khaja Tanvir, counsel for Grameen Kalyan, told the media that the organisation had moved the High Court challenging the legality of the NBR's tax demand. However, as the court discharged the rules issued in response to the petitions, the tax demand remains in force.
Earlier, on October 4, 2024, a previous High Court verdict concerning the recovery of Tk 666 crore in taxes from Grameen Kalyan was withdrawn suo motu. The case was subsequently assigned to a new bench, which dismissed the organisation's writ petitions after hearing the matter.
The latest ruling upholds the NBR's position on the tax claim and clears the way for recovery of the outstanding amount in accordance with the court's directions.