NBR rejects Falu's plea

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has rejected an application of former BNP lawmaker Mosaddek Ali Falu to settle a tax evasion case filed against him while an appeal of Bashundhara Industrial Complex Ltd is under consideration.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday informed parliament about it during the question answer hour.
He said a total of 73 people were sued on charge of tax evasion under sections 165 and 166 of the Income Tax Ordinance 1984 during the tenure of past caretaker government.
Muhith however refused to disclose the list of the people facing criminal cases on charge of tax evasion, saying that the section 163 of the Income Tax Ordinance does not permit to disclose those names.
The finance minister said Bashundhara Industrial Complex Ltd and Mosaddek Ali Falu applied to the NBR for settlement of the cases filed against them.
He also said it is the discretion of the NBR whether it will go for settlement in a tax evasion case filed under sections 165 and 166 of the Income Tax Ordinance 1984.
In a tax evasion case, an anti-graft tribunal in September 2007 handed down eight years' imprisonment to five high-ups of Bashundhara Industrial Complex Ltd, including its Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan.
The other four who got eight years' imprisonment are Akbar's wife Afroza Begum and their sons Sadat Sobhan, Safiyat Sobhan Sanbir and Sayem Sobhan, all directors of the company.
Kabiruddin Mollah, deputy tax commissioner of Circle-8 of the NBR, filed the case against seven persons and the company in connection with evading Tk 8.48 crore income tax between the fiscal years 2004 and 2007.
The court also fined them Tk 8.3 crore, which is to be paid by the convicts according to their shares in the company. They will have to spend one more year behind bars if they fail to pay the fine.
The court has also ordered confiscation of the company's property worth about Tk 22.5 crore for concealment of information of wealth in the statement submitted to the NBR.
On June 2, 2008 a special court sentenced Falu, also former political secretary to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, to five years' rigorous imprisonment in a relief scam case. Falu filed an appeal with the HC against the verdict. He was arrested at his Cantonment residence in the capital on charge of corruption on February 6, 2007.