Published : 12 Oct 2026, 11:38 PM
Updated : 12 Oct 2026, 11:38 PM
Grameen Kalyan went to great lengths to deprive the government of tax revenue by classifying money received from Grameen Telecom as dividends, the High Court has observed.
In its full verdict, published on Monday, the court described the organisation’s actions as a “classic case of evading taxes”.
The dispute involves Tk 6.67 billion in unpaid taxes across five tax years, according to state lawyer Abdus Samad Azad.
The outstanding amounts are Tk 1.89 billion for 2012-13, Tk 1.33 billion for 2013-14, Tk 1.14 billion for 2014-15, Tk 1.15 billion for 2015-16 and Tk 1.16 billion for 2016-17.
The total claim stands at Tk 6.67 billion.
In two verdicts spanning 32 and 15 pages, the court directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to issue demand notices and recover the outstanding taxes.
It also lifted the stays previously granted in the matter.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim delivered the verdicts on Sept 10. Justice Mozibur wrote both rulings.
Established in 1996, Grameen Kalyan is part of the Grameen family of organisations founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the former chief advisor of the interim government.
Yunus previously served as the organisation’s chairman.
According to case documents, Grameen Kalyan was formed under Section 28 of the Companies Act 1994, using a fund of Tk 3.2 billion received through grants and loans from various donor organisations.
It later entered into a joint investment agreement with Grameen Telecom.