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Grameen Kalyan appeals High Court order to pay Tk666 crore in tax

The organisation linked to Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus filed the appeal with the Appellate Division on 18 October against a September verdict that let the National Board of Revenue collect the unpaid income tax.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 13:12

Grameen Kalyan, an organisation linked to Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday against a High Court verdict requiring it to pay Tk666 crore in income tax demanded by the National Board of Revenue.

The appeal was filed on behalf of Grameen Kalyan with the relevant section of the Appellate Division on 18 October, according to reports by Dhaka Tribune and Bangla Tribune.

On 10 September, a High Court bench of Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim delivered the verdict after dismissing a rule issued in response to a writ petition. Barristers Abdullah Al Mamun and Fida M Kamal argued for Yunus.

The full text of the two judgments, running to 15 and 32 pages, was released on 12 October after the bench signed them.

The dispute dates back to 2017, when Grameen Kalyan filed two writ petitions challenging tax demands raised after reassessments for the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years. The court initially issued a rule after hearing the petitions, which the newly constituted bench later dismissed.

The case has taken a circuitous route. On 4 October 2024, after the July mass uprising, another High Court bench of Justice Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir withdrew the earlier verdict and sent the case files to the chief justice, who referred the matter to a fresh bench.

With the writ petitions dismissed, the revenue board can proceed to collect the outstanding income tax from Grameen Kalyan, lawyers said. The new appeal now places that collection before the Appellate Division.

Grameen Kalyan is part of the Grameen family of social businesses founded by Dr Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and later served as chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government.

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A file photo used by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha for coverage of the BNP's nomination process for a vacant women's reserved seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. Photo: BSS BSS

The BNP will interview women seeking its nomination for the by-election to a vacant women's reserved seat in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on 19 October, the party said in a press release signed by assistant office secretary Munir Hossain.

The interviews will be held at 7:00pm at the party chairman's political office in Gulshan, and will be attended by women who bought and submitted nomination papers, the release said.

The by-election is for a seat reserved for women that fell vacant after Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti resigned as an MP on 1 October. She had been accused of involvement in an attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Dhaka's Mirpur, and resigned on the instructions of BNP chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Under the Election Commission schedule announced on 12 October and signed by EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, nomination papers must be submitted to the returning officer at the Nirbachan Bhaban by 26 October. Scrutiny will be held on 27 October, the last date for withdrawal of candidacies is 1 November, and voting will take place on 12 November.

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NEXT STORY Bangladesh

Coast Guard seizes 8.3m metres of nets in hilsa ban crackdown

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Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel patrol rivers and coastal waters to enforce the 22-day ban on hilsa fishing that runs from 8 to 29 October 2026. Photo: BSS BSS

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The ban began on 8 October and lasts until 29 October. It bars catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying and selling hilsa anywhere in the country.

Officials said conservation operations have been intensified in 54 upazilas across 16 districts, with stations and outposts under the Coast Guard's four zones running regular patrols. Chandpur, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Munshiganj, Barishal, Patuakhali, Bhola, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Bagerhat, the Chattogram outer anchorage and parts of Lakshmipur are among the areas getting particular attention.

The Coast Guard said it had seized 8.3 million metres (83,30,900 metres) of fishing nets, 155 kilogrammes of hilsa and 14 boats, and that 24 people had been brought under the law. The nets were destroyed in the presence of fisheries representatives, the confiscated hilsa was given to local orphanages, and the boats were handed to fisheries officials.

Patrol vessels are also on alert to keep fishing trawlers from neighbouring countries out of Bangladesh's territorial waters, the force said. Officials said working in remote rivers at night and stopping the use of banned nets remain the biggest challenges, and that patrols, intelligence gathering and coordination with other agencies have been strengthened.

Under a government programme, rice is being given to 646,290 fishing families in 168 upazilas across 38 districts, with each family receiving 25 kilogrammes for the duration of the ban.

Fisherman Burhan Uddin of Char Fasson in Bhola told the state news agency BSS that the restriction would help hilsa breed and grow, and welcomed the food aid for families losing income. Professor Mohammad Mamun Chowdhury, chairman of Dhaka University's fisheries department, called the ban effective but said it should run for a month rather than 22 days, because egg-bearing hilsa are still netted soon after it ends.

Enforcement has been uneven. The Daily Star reported on 12 October that illegal hilsa fishing and open sales continued along the Meghna in Barishal's Hizla and Mehendiganj upazilas, with 2,000 to 3,000 maunds traded daily in about 30 markets, and that the district fisheries office had asked for army or Coast Guard help. Officials there cited a lack of budget and the danger of night operations on the river.

Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said surveillance and drives had been strengthened to ensure safe spawning, and urged the public to report violations on the emergency number 16111.