Staff Reporter:
The High Court has issued an order directing Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the non-profit organization Grameen Kalyan, to pay Tk119 crore in taxes to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for the tax years 2011-2017.
The HC bench comprising Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir issued the order after considering income tax reference applications filed by Grameen Kalyan contesting the legality of the claims made by the NBR.
Following the verdict, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told reporters that Grameen Kalyan has already paid Tk 436 crore out of the Tk 555 crore claimed by the NBR and now, it is required to pay the remaining Tk 119 crore.
The order was issued after the court settled a case filed by Dr. Yunus challenging the tax claimed by the NBR.
On 1 January of this year, a Dhaka court sentenced Yunus and three other top officials of Grameen Telecom to six months in jail in a case filed by the government over labor law violations.
Dr. Yunus serves as the chairman of the Grameen Telecom.
Soon after the verdict, the same court also granted bail to all four individuals for a month, following separate bail pleas.
