Mobile Operators must pay the dues: BTRC

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has held a press conference regarding the order of payment of various fees and value added tax to three mobile operators of the country by the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. Chairman of BTRC Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed presided over the press conference organized at the main conference center of BTRC on Sunday afternoon. He said that the money of the government means the money of people, that money must be paid by the operators. BTRC is determined to recover public money. Pointing out that all the laws and policies enacted by BTRC are for the welfare of the people of the country, he further said that BTRC wants to highlight the telecommunication sector as a timely sector in the country, besides monitoring the quality of service, collecting revenue and building a smart Bangladesh by 2041, BTRC is working relentlessly. Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, Commissioner of Legal and Licensing Department, highlighted the details of the case in the press conference. He said, the mobile operators paid BTRC in the form of 15% VAT instead of paying the actual amount (for example, if, the original amount was Tk. 100, they paid Tk. 85 to BTRC i.e. the remaining Tk. 15 was shown as VAT). Stating that necessary measures will be taken to collect the dues from the concerned operators after the publication of the full verdict, he said, BTRC will take legal action in this regard if the decision of the highest court of the country is not accepted. Spectrum Division Commissioner Engineer Sheikh Riaz Ahmed said that about two and a half thousand crore taka is government revenue and people's money. Operators must pay this monyt. The Commissioner of Finance, Accounting and Revenue Department Md. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury said that BTRC is giving the second highest revenue to the government treasury. Implementation of revenue management software along with formulation of revenue policy will be undertaken for proper collection of revenue. Brigadier General Md. Nasim Parvez, Director General of Systems and Services Department, said in response to the journalist's question, the operators' investment and cost management issues are their own issues. The profit and loss issues of the operators are not the concern of the regulatory body and they have to pay the dues of BTRC. Ashish Kumar Kundu, Director General of Legal and Licensing Department, said that till November 22, 2022, the amount payable to BTRC by Grameenphone is Tk. 1163.85 crore, the amount payable to BTRC by Banglalink is Tk. 625.27 crore, the amount payable to BTRC by Robi is Tk. 565.58 crore. The amount payable from Airtel to BTRC is Tk.59.05 crores. He also said that BTRC will get 100% from the operators; in this case 15% VAT cannot be added. Barrister Khandaker Reza-e-Raqib, lawyer for BTRC, said that no money was unfairly demanded from the operators and BTRC will get the money it deserves. Stating that the rebate facility in payment of VAT is not applicable in all cases, he also said that the things required to get rebate do not exist here. Director General of Administration Department Md. Delwar Hossain, Director General of Engineering and Operations Department Brigadier General Md. Ehsanul Kabir, Director General of Spectrum Department Brigadier General Mohammad Moniruzzaman Jewel and other officers of BTRC were present in the ceremony conducted by Director of Legal and Licensing Department of BTRC Tarek Hasan Siddiqui.