Tracking back from the decision to take controlling measures for realising the dues from mobile operators – Robi and Grameenphone – the government is going to sit with them to settle down the issue through discussion. The government is also going to withdraw the cases, filed earlier against the said operators, hinting at probably arriving at an amicable settlement in this connection within the next two to three weeks.
This was informed at a press conference at the conference room of the ministry of finance in presence of Finance Minister, AHM Mustafa Kamal and Post and telecommunication Minister, Mostafa Jabbar. "We would like to take any decision in this regard through elaborate discussion, We want Grameenphone to do business here but after paying the dues of the government, we will also help them", said the finance minister. He said they will discuss with the government and the Grameenphone authority to solve the issue within the next two to three weeks. The cases relating to outstanding revenue will be withdrawn, he added
Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission ( BTRC), Chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Post Telecommunication Secretary, Ashok Kumar Biswas, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameenphone, Michel Folley and CEO of Robi, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed were also present at the press conference. Replying to a query, Mustafa Kamal said "We will not disclose the way how to resolve the issue. The operators might have their own argument about the huge outstanding amount of dues. Dues will be realized through discussion, then the cases will also be withdrawn."
Post and Telecommunication Minister Mostafa Jabbar said the government has no plan to create hindrances on way to doing business by the operators, so it is expected that the issue will be resolved mutually.The Grameenphone CEO said "We are really grateful that the government is cordial enough to find a solution in this regard. Although some misunderstanding has taken place in between, but we believe that the issue will be resolved through fruitful discussion".
The BTRC issued show cause notices to country's two leading telecom operators, Grameenphone and Robi, for alleged tax evasion, seeking to know why their licences would not be revoked on September 5.The BTRC resorted to the move against the largest and second largest mobile phone operators after several steps including partial bandwidth block and non-issuance of no objection certificates (NOC) failed to realise the Tk 13,000 crore dues.
Following the notices served, GP and Robi filed two separate cases with a Dhaka court, seeking injunctions against the BTRC.On 2 April this year, the BTRC asked GP to pay Taka 12,579.95 crore in audit claims in 10 days. Of the total amount, Taka 8,494.01 crore is payable to the BTRC and Taka 4,085.94 crore to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), a BTRC-appointed audit firm said recently. In 2015, GP was accused of going back on promises they made to lure customers and then refusing to explain its fraudulent act. The operator promised to its tens of millions of subscribers a minute's free talk-time.
