SC order on BTRC plea over GP’s due deferred till Nov 24

The Supreme Court has deferred its order until November 24 on a petition filed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) seeking a stay on the High Court order that issued an injunction on its move to realise Tk 12,580 crore due from Grameenphone.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain today said a seven-member full bench will pass order on the issued on that day.

The apex court, however, asked Grameenphone not to pursue any arbitration process over the payment before any other forum.

The SC was scheduled today to pass order on the petition today.

On November 14, Grameenphone has agreed to deposit Tk 200 crore with BTRC against its claim of Tk 12,580 crore.

On the other hand, a lawyer for the BTRC told the SC that Grameenphone should clear 50 percent of the Tk 12,580 crore due now.

The telecom operator claims that two top mobile carriers including Grameenphone owe the state Tk 13,447 crore in revenue share, taxes, and late fees until 2014, but the carriers said the amount was disputed.