The government will not be lenient towards leading mobile operators Robi and Grameenphone over their dues, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The issue of dues, both revenue and the amount owed to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will be sorted out through discussions, he told the media on Wednesday (Sept 18).
“A proper solution will come up in the next three weeks,” he said.
The minister said that both Robi and GP and have been regular in paying taxes, VAT and BTRC dues for the last 22 years.
“There is a claim of around Tk 45 billion against GP and around Tk 85 billion from GP,” he said and added that the two operators owe the telecom regulatory commission another Tk 80 million with interest.
Responding to queries on the matter, Kamal said that the government’s relations with the two operators were deteriorating which would have led to a loss in revenue. “They’ll continue with their business and settle our dues.”
“They will withdraw the cases and in turn the government will withdraw the notice that they were served with,” he added.
Meanwhile, the National Revenue Board (NBR) chief who was present at the media call said that the matter couldn’t be sorted out through arbitration as the BTRC laws do not provision for it.