Freezing Robi’s account: SC to hear plea on HC order

The Supreme Court is set to hold hearing tomorrow on a petition filed by the government seeking stay on the High Court order that cleared the way for Robi Axiata Ltd to operate its bank accounts.

The stay petition has been included as item No. 4 in tomorrow’s cause list of the four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain for its hearing, according to the SC website.

The National Board of Revenue on February 26 froze the bank accounts of Robi on allegations of dodging of Tk 18.72 crore in value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD).

Following a writ petition filed by Robi, the HC on February 27 stayed the NBR decision clearing the way for Robi to operate its bank accounts.

The HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government and NBR to explain why the freezing the bank accounts of Robi and the provision of the VAT law under which the bank accounts were frozen should not be declared illegal.

The government today filed a petition with the SC seeking stay on the HC order, saying that the NBR has jurisdiction to freeze the bank accounts of a company for dodging VAT as per the relevant law, Deputy Attorney General SM Moniruzzaman told The Daily Star.

After a brief hearing, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice Hasan Foez Siddique sent the stay petition to full bench of the apex court for its hearing tomorrow.