Appellate Division Chamber Judge Justice Farah Mahbub has dropped separate applications filed by Grameen Kalyan from the cause list, which sought a stay on a High Court verdict ordering it to pay Tk666 crore in income tax claimed by National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Grameen Kalyan was founded by Muhammad Yunus, former chief adviser to the interim government.
In court, Deputy Attorney General Abdus Samad Azad represented the State, while lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun appeared for Grameen Kalyan.
Advocate Mamun said the Chamber Judge court declined to interfere at this stage as the High Court has not yet issued a full judgment and it has not been received, adding that the court will consider intervention once the full verdict is available and reviewed.
Deputy Attorney General Azad said Grameen Kalyan had applied to stay the verdict, but as the Chamber Judge court issued no order, the High Court ruling remains in force.
Earlier on Thursday, HC bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim ruled that Grameen Kalyan must pay Tk666 crore in income tax as claimed by the NBR, discharging the rule issued in this regard.
The High Court verdict dismissed two writ petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan challenging the NBR’s order that reassessed its income tax at Tk666 crore.
Previously, on 4 August 2024, another HC bench had dismissed the writ petitions filed regarding this matter.
However, that same HC bench later recalled its judgment because its junior judge had formerly served as a deputy attorney general representing the government in these cases.
Following the recall, the case documents were sent to the chief justice, who subsequently assigned the cases to a new bench for hearing.
The tax demand against Grameen Kalyan was raised following reassessment for five assessment years: 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17. Grameen Kalyan filed two separate writ petitions in 2017 challenging the validity of this demand.
In 2024, the State informed that the NBR had claimed over Tk666 crore in taxes from Grameen Kalyan across these five assessment years. Following an initial hearing, the court issued a rule, which was subsequently discharged on Thursday.
Yunus was the chairman of Grameen Kalyan, and it is understood that he has not been associated with the organisation since 2024.
