Grameen Kalyan Must Pay Tk 666 Crore in Taxes: High Court

DHAKA: The High Court has paved the way for Grameen Kalyan to pay Tk 666.91 crore in taxes to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), dismissing two rules that had earlier been issued in connection with the tax dispute. A High Court Division bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim pronounced the judgment after hearing the petitions.

Senior Advocate Abdullah Al Mamun appeared for Grameen Kalyan, while Deputy Attorney General Abdus Samad Azad represented the state. According to the state lawyer, following Thursday’s judgment, Grameen Kalyan will have to pay a total of Tk 666.91 crore to the NBR for the tax years from 2012 to 2017. The dispute concerns tax assessments made by the NBR for those years. Grameen Kalyan had challenged the tax demands before the High Court.

The case had previously gone through another round of proceedings. In August 2024, an earlier High Court bench had rejected Grameen Kalyan’s petitions, effectively allowing the NBR to recover the disputed taxes.

However, that judgment was subsequently withdrawn after concerns arose over a possible conflict of interest involving one of the judges, who had previously appeared as a lawyer for the government in the same matter. The case was then sent for a fresh hearing. Following the renewed hearing, the newly constituted High Court bench dismissed the two rules, resulting in the latest ruling in favour of the NBR’s tax claim.

Grameen Kalyan is a non-profit social business organisation founded by Nobel laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus. The latest judgment clears a major legal hurdle to the recovery of the disputed tax amount for the 2012–2017 tax years. It was not immediately clear whether Grameen Kalyan would challenge the judgment before the Appellate Division.