Yunus's Grameen Kalyan must pay Tk 666cr in tax: HC

The High Court (HC) on Thursday upheld the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) tax claim of Tk 666 crore against Grameen Kalyan, founded by Nobel laureate and former interim government chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.

In an order, the HC bench rejected two petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan challenging NBR orders reassessing around Tk 666 crore in income tax for different tax years.

The ruling upholds the NBR’s tax demand, requiring the organisation to pay the amount in question.

The HC bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim delivered the verdict after hearing the petitions.

Deputy Attorney General Abdus Samad Azad, who argued for the state, said the NBR will issue a notice to Grameen Kalyan seeking Tk 666 crore in income tax for the 2012-13 to 2016-17 tax years after receiving a certified copy of the verdict.

Grameen Kalyan lawyer Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun said his client will appeal against the HC verdict before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

If the Appellate Division stays the HC verdict, Grameen Kalyan will not have to pay the amount claimed by the NBR, he added.

Another lawyer for Grameen Kalyan, Khaja Tanvir, told reporters that the High Court had dismissed the rule challenging the NBR’s tax demand, meaning the tax authority’s demand remains in force.

“We challenged the NBR’s claim before the High Court Division, and the court today dismissed the rule. As a result, the NBR’s claim has been upheld,” he said.

He also said they would file an appeal with the Supreme Court against the High Court order after consulting with their client.

In response to a query, he said the deadline for paying the amount would be known after the full text of the judgment is released.

The NBR raised the tax demand for five tax years - from 2012-13 to 2016-17 - after reassessing Grameen Kalyan's taxes. The dispute concerns tax deducted at source from dividends received from Grameenphone.

In 2017, Grameen Kalyan filed separate writ petitions with the High Court challenging the validity of the NBR's tax demand.

On 4 August 2024, the High Court dismissed the writ petitions in a judgment delivered by a bench. The same bench later recalled the judgment after it emerged that the junior judge had previously served as a deputy attorney general representing the government in the cases.

The judgment was recalled and the case records were sent to the chief justice. The cases were subsequently assigned to a new bench for hearing.

In 2024, the state told the court that the NBR had demanded more than Tk 666 crore from the organisation for the five tax years.

Explaining the tax dispute, Grameen Kalyan lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun said Grameenphone deducts 15 percent tax at source when paying dividends to Grameen Kalyan.

"Why should additional tax be imposed after that tax has already been paid? That is the question that brought us to court. Yet the matter was reported as a tax evasion case," he said.

Earlier, several media reports stated that the case filed by Grameen Kalyan had been withdrawn while Yunus was serving as chief adviser to the interim government.

On 14 July, Mamun described reports of a tax waiver and withdrawal of the case as "baseless and misleading".
At the time, he also said the case was awaiting a hearing before the same High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim.

On Yunus's involvement in the case, Mamun said Yunus had previously served as chairman of Grameen Kalyan but formally resigned after taking charge of the interim government.

"The case is currently being conducted in the name of the organisation, and its current officials are legally handling it," he said.

A member of the Grameen family of companies, Grameen Kalyan was founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Yunus in 1996. It was registered with the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms under the Companies Act in November 1996 and with the NGO Affairs Bureau in July 2002.