The High Court has ruled that Grameen Kalyan, an organisation founded by former chief adviser of interim government Muhammad Yunus, must pay Tk666 crore in income tax claimed by National Board of Revenue (NBR).
A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim delivered the verdict on Thursday after discharging the rule issued in this regard. The judgment dismissed two writ petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan challenging the NBR order that reassessed its income tax liabilities.
Deputy Attorney General Md Abdus Samad Azad represented the state during the hearing, while Advocates Fida M Kamal, Abdullah Al Mamun, and Khaja Tanvir Ahmed appeared for Grameen Kalyan.
Following the verdict, Deputy Attorney General Md Abdus Samad Azad told reporters that the High Court judgment was delivered in favour of the Taxes Department and the government. He stated that after obtaining a certified copy of the verdict, the NBR will send a demand notice to Grameen Kalyan directing it to pay more than Tk 666 crore in outstanding income tax for the 2012–13 to 2016–17 assessment years.
Meanwhile, Grameen Kalyan’s lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun announced that they would file an appeal challenging the High Court judgment.
He noted that if the Appellate Division stays the High Court verdict, Grameen Kalyan will not be required to pay the sum claimed by the NBR. He further claimed that Muhammad Yunus has not been associated with Grameen Kalyan since 2024.
Earlier on 4 August 2024, another High Court bench had dismissed the writ petitions concerning the matter.
However, that judgment was subsequently recalled by the same bench because its junior judge had previously served as a Deputy Attorney General representing the government in these cases.
Following the recall, the case records were sent to the Chief Justice, who reassigned the cases to a new bench for hearing.
According to the case details, Muhammad Yunus previously served as the Chairman of Grameen Kalyan.
Following a reassessment, tax claims were made against Grameen Kalyan for five tax years: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17. In 2017, Grameen Kalyan filed two separate writ petitions challenging the validity of the tax demand.
In 2024, the state informed the court that the NBR had claimed over Tk666 crore for these five assessment years. Following preliminary hearings, the court issued a rule, which has now been discharged, enabling the NBR to recover the income tax from Grameen Kalyan.
