The Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday filed a case against Waheeda Rahman Chowdhury, former commissioner of the National Board of Revenue鈥檚 Large Taxpayer Unit of Value Added Tax, for providing illegal benefits to four mobile operator companies, causing the government losses of nearly Tk 153 crore.聽
The commission鈥檚 assistant director Shah Alam Sheikh filed the case against Waheeda Rahman, who was now enjoying post-retirement leave, with its Integrated District Office in Dhaka-1.
鈥榃aheeda Rahman caused losses of Tk152.89 crore to the government through waiving the interest of four mobile operators,鈥� said ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen.
She also said that the VAT official abused her power with shady intention and illegally allowed the interest waiver facility.
When asked, Khorsheda said, 鈥業f the investigation officer finds the involvement of any other officials of VAT or the mobile operator companies, they will also be included in the case.鈥�
According to the case statement, Waheeda took illegal executive decisions involving 16 documents regarding VAT collection and waived Tk 152.89 crore of unpaid interest with dishonest intention between March 2020 and November 2022.
Of the amount, Grameen Phone Limited was awarded a waiver of Tk 58.64 crore in its unpaid interest, Banglalink Digital Communication Limited Tk 57. 88 crore, Robi Axiata Limited Tk 14.94 crore and聽Airtel Bangladesh Limited Tk 20.53 crore.
The case also stated that earlier the four mobile operators at a meeting of alternative dispute resolution agreed about an NBR claim of the VAT amount applicable to their rents of places and establishments. Accordingly, they cleared the payment of Tk189.74 crore in VAT.
But, as they delayed in making the payment, the four companies incurred Tk 152.89 crore in interest. Then commissioner Waheeda Rahman asked officials to calculate the interest quickly, but later on she changed her decision through 鈥榓buse of power and criminal breach of trust鈥� and provided the waiver to those companies, the case statement mentioned.
Earlier, the NBR formed a committee with its commissioner Abul Bashar Md Shafiqur Rahman in the lead to probe the incident.
The committee鈥檚 investigation found that Waheeda gave the facility to the companies illegally. The probe report was forwarded to the ACC for action.
