The High Court has published the full text of its verdict dismissing separate writ petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan challenging the validity of National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) demand for over Tk666 crore in taxes across five assessment years.
The copy of judgment in two cases – one spanning 15 pages and the other 32 pages – was released on the Supreme Court website on Monday.
The HC bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Mia and Justice Rezaul Karim authored the judgments.
Earlier on 10 September, the bench delivered the verdict discharging two rules issued in favour of Grameen Kalyan.
The verdict dismissed Grameen Kalyan’s two writ petitions against NBR’s order reassessing Tk666 crore in income tax.
Prior to this, on 4 August 2024, another High Court bench had dismissed the writ petitions filed regarding the issue.
However, the same bench subsequently recalled its judgment on the grounds that Justice Rezaul had previously served as a deputy attorney general representing the government in these cases.
Consequently, the verdict was recalled, and the case records were sent to the chief justice, who then assigned the cases to a new bench for hearing.
The tax demand was made against Grameen Kalyan for 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17 assessment years following a re-evaluation.
In 2017, Grameen Kalyan filed two separate writ petitions challenging the validity of the demand.
In 2024, the state side informed the court that NBR had demanded over Tk666 crore in taxes from Grameen Kalyan for the five tax years.
Upon initial hearing, the court issued rules, which were ultimately discharged by the High Court.
Subsequently, on 14 September, the Appellate Division Chamber Court dropped from its cause list separate petitions filed by Grameen Kalyan seeking a stay on the High Court verdict.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Yunus was the chairman of Grameen Kalyan, though it is reported that he has not been associated with the organisation since 2024.
