“We’ll block its NOC and calls, if necessary,” said Jahurul Haque, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). “It must pay the arrears.”
A BTRC-appointed audit firm said GP owes the regulator Tk 13,000 crore, including Tk 4,085.94 crore to the National Board of Revenue.
GP dubbed the audit "unfounded and without any legal basis".
“A daily late fee is being added to the overdue payment,” Jahurul told a views exchange meeting with Telecom Reporters Network’s Bangladesh (TRNB) at BTRC office in Dhaka.
He said the audit company had given enough time to GP but the mobile operator was delaying the payment by taking time from court.
“We’ll do everything legally possible to get the money,” he said, adding that all mobile operators will be audited gradually and that the BTRC treated everyone equally.
On April 2, BTRC asked GP to pay Tk 12579.95 crore. Of the amount, the regulator said the operator owed it Tk 8,494.01 crore and NBR Tk 4,085.94 crore.
GP was asked to make the payment within 10-15 days.
The claim originated from an Information and Systems Audit, conducted by the JVCA of Toha Khan Zaman & Co, on GP's operations from its inception in 1997 till December 2014.
TRNB president Muzib Masud, General Secretary Mazharul Anuwar Khan Shipu and BTRC commissioner, among others, were present at the programme.