The High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has released the full 21-page judgment upholding the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) assessment demanding ৳666.39 crore in back taxes from social business organization ‘Grameen Kalyan’. In its observations, the court clearly stated that there is no legal scope for waiving taxes lawfully assessed and imposed by the revenue authority.
The full written text of the judgment, signed by the bench comprising Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar and Justice Sardar Md. Rashed Jahangir, was published on the Supreme Court’s official website on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).
Dismissal of Tax Waiver Exemption: The High Court explicitly observed in its full judgment that under the Income Tax Ordinance, Grameen Kalyan cannot claim statutory income tax exemption merely on the grounds of undertaking social or philanthropic activities. The bench affirmed that the earlier Appellate Tribunal decision upholding NBR’s tax demand was legally sound and final.
Scope Across Six Assessment Years: The National Board of Revenue issued tax claims amounting to a total of ৳666,39,24,000 against Grameen Kalyan spanning six assessment years—specifically 2003–2004 through 2007–2008, along with the 2010–2011 assessment year. Grameen Kalyan had filed writ petitions challenging the validity of these tax demands.
Legal Roadblock Cleared for NBR: Following the earlier short order, the full judgment signed by both presiding justices thoroughly evaluates arguments from both the revenue authority and the petitioner. With the release of this certified copy, no legal bar remains for the NBR to proceed with recovering the outstanding revenue (subject to any further appeal before the Appellate Division).
