Stay sought on Tk 666 crore tax verdict against Dr Yunus's Grameen Kalyan

An application has been filed seeking a stay on the High Court verdict that ordered payment of Tk 666 crore in taxes claimed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) from Grameen Kalyan, owned by Dr Muhammad Yunus.

The application was filed with the Chamber Judge's Court of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday, September 14.

Earlier, on September 10, the High Court ruled that the Tk 666 crore in taxes claimed by the NBR must be paid by Grameen Kalyan. The High Court bench led by Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia delivered the verdict, dismissing the rule issued following the writ petition in this regard.

Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun and Barrister Fida M Kamal appeared for Dr Yunus in court.

Earlier, following the July mass uprising, on October 4, 2024, the High Court had suo motu withdrawn its verdict ordering the collection of Tk 666 crore claimed by the NBR from Grameen Kalyan, owned by Dr Muhammad Yunus. The bench of Justice Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir withdrew that verdict. The case documents were also sent to the Chief Justice.

The case was later sent to a new bench for hearing. After re-evaluation, the organisation filed two separate writs in 2017 regarding the tax demand from Grameen Kalyan for the tax years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The court issued a rule after a preliminary hearing. The new High Court bench later dismissed the rule and delivered the verdict.

Lawyers said that since the writ was dismissed, the NBR will be able to collect the money from Grameen Kalyan as income tax.