BTRC gets more time to respond to Grameenphone’s case

Telecom

TBS Report
03 March, 2020, 10:05 pm
Last modified: 03 March, 2020, 10:07 pm
The telecom regulator had asked for an additional two months to respond to the case

A Dhaka court has granted the telecom regulator additional time to respond to the case filed by Grameenphone questioning the validity of the regulator's audit claim.

BTRC asked for an additional two months of time to respond to the case and the court approved it on Tuesday, Grameenphone's lawyer Tanim Hossain Shawon told The Business Standard.

In April last year, the BTRC demanded that GP pay an unpaid audit claim of Tk12,580 crore, which the company refused to pay questioning the audit process. 

The telecom operator moved to the lower court, questioning the regulator's audit claim validity.

They later attempted to seek a temporary injunction on the BTRC claim, which was denied. Then, GP moved to the High Court with the same request.

In October, a High Court bench issued a two-month injunction against the BTRC move.

Later, the BTRC appealed to the Appellate Division, seeking a stay order on the injunction and won the legal battle.

The Appellate Division ordered GP to pay Tk1,000 crore within February 23.

On February 19, Grameenphone offered Tk100 crore to BTRC to continue dialogues over its disputed audit claim.

However, the telecom regulator rejected it saying the court has an order on the issue and the BTRC cannot take any decision bypassing the court.

On February 23, the telecom operator paid Tk1,000 crore to BTRC.

The next day, the Appellate Division ordered the company to deposit Tk1,000 crore more to the BTRC within three months.

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