HC extends deadline for GP to settle issues

FE Report The High Court Thursday issued an order of status quo on the telecom regulator's notice claiming Tk 30.34 billion as outstanding dues, effectively suspending its operation pending hearing of an appeal filed by Grameenphone (GP), said a GP statement. Since the deadline for payment mentioned in the notice would expire on October 24, 2011, in order to maintain its business continuity GP had no other option but to resort to legal remedies. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued a notice on October 3, 2011 to GP claiming Tk 30.34 billion as outstanding dues based on an audit. GP rejected this claim as, according to them, the auditor appointed by BTRC had not followed established procedures and also came up with unsubstantiated and wrong findings. Later in a meeting GP humbly requested BTRC to put the notice on hold for the sake of fruitful discussion to resolve the issue. But BTRC refused to withhold that notice. GP hopes that this court order will encourage BTRC to revisit the wrong conclusions drawn by the auditor, and pave the way for an amicable solution to the issue.