NBR sues Grameen Bank for Tk 670m VAT ‘evasion’

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has sued Grameen Bank on charges of evading Tk 670 million in value-added tax on charges, fees and commissions for microcredit.

The VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate of the NBR found evidence of tax evasion in an investigation into the bank’s business operations, the directorate’s Director General Moinul Khan said on Thursday.

The NBR filed another case against the bank for not registering for services, for which VAT should be paid.

The investigation report and the case documents have been sent to Dhaka West VAT Commissionerate, which has also been asked to monitor whether the bank is paying VAT regularly, reports bdnews24.com.   

Jahangir Hossen Howlader, Managing Director of Grameen Bank, said people from the VAT office visited the bank and asked the officials to meet them on Tuesday, but did not say anything about the cases.

“Grameen Bank has been enjoying VAT exemption as a social organisation. We will need to check whether the bank should pay VAT under new rules.”

“People in our accounts section can talk about this well. We will pay VAT and taxes, if necessary. But this bank is owned by the poor. The pressure will be ultimately on them.”