Dr. Yunus Must Pay Tk 666 Crore in Taxes: High Court Verdict

The High Court has ruled that Grameen Kalyan, owned by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former Chief Adviser of the interim government, must pay Tk 666 crore in taxes claimed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

On Thursday (September 10), the High Court bench led by Justice Mr. Md. Mojibur Rahman Miah announced the verdict. The court delivered this ruling by discharging the rule issued in this matter.

Barrister Mr. Abdullah Al Mamun and Barrister Mr. Fida M. Kamal argued the case on behalf of Dr. Yunus in court.

Earlier, following the July mass uprising, the High Court on October 4 suo motu withdrew its earlier verdict that had ordered payment of the Tk 666 crore claimed by the NBR from Grameen Kalyan, owned by Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

The High Court bench of Justice Mr. Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Mr. Sardar Md. Rashed Jahangir withdrew that verdict. At the same time, the case files were sent to the Chief Justice, and the case was later assigned to a new bench. After reassessment, Grameen Kalyan filed two separate writ petitions in 2017 concerning the tax claims payable by Grameen Kalyan for the assessment years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17. Following preliminary hearings, the court had issued a rule on the matter. Today, this new High Court bench discharged that rule. With the writ petitions dismissed, the NBR will now be able to recover the said amount from Grameen Kalyan as income tax.