Khaleda denied amnesty to legalise money
| ||
By Mizan Rahman
Mohammed Ali, deputy commissioner of tax circle-22, in a letter apprised Khaleda of the position of the tax department, officials said yesterday. Quoting the amnesty, the letter said that it would not be applicable for Khaleda as the Anti-Corruption Commission had lodged a case against her and her tax evasion case was under process to be filed soon by the tax department. The refusal letter was sent to Khaleda through the jail authorities, sources in the NBR said, which was not made available to her tax lawyer, it was learnt. "The amnesty facility would not be applicable for Khaleda as the former prime minister has been charged with corruption and the taskforces on major crimes are investigating her tax dodging case," a tax official said. "The statutory regulatory order of the government, issued on June 4 in this connection, categorically bars the people already charged with corruption or facing investigations for irregularities, from the amnesty." The NBR on June 4 offered the amnesty for two months, until July 31, to taxpayers for legalising their undisclosed money by paying a 5% penalty in addition to the usual tax. The amnesty period was extended until September 30 considering the huge last-minute response from the taxpayers. The NBR directives say that individuals and businesses facing tax evasion charges and legal actions are barred from availing of the money legalising facility. Khaleda, now detained in jail, on September 27 deposited tax of around 9,50,000 taka to the exchequer to whiten an undisclosed amount of 3.6mn taka, availing of the money-legalising opportunity for the second time. This should not be treated as illegal money either, said Ahmed Azam Khan, her tax lawyer, adding that the BNP chairperson found the time suitable for including the amount under the undisclosed money category following the NBR offer. On July 31, Khaleda deposited through her representative about 3.38mn taka with the central bank in taxes on her 13.3mn taka undisclosed income availing of a government-declared amnesty for the first time. The tax paid at the first chance by Khaleda against 13.3mn taka was not readily accepted by the revenue board on the grounds of non-compliance with the formalities in the process of paying tax. It was, however, accepted one week later. "The undisclosed money of the former prime minister was legalised earlier as no case was lodged against Khaleda as of July 31," a taxman said. Her lawyer, however, said they would go to court against the decision of the revenue board as no case had so far been filed against her for tax evasion. "The NBR chairman has recently said anybody could pay tax against their undisclosed money even after the expiry of the amnesty period, which sharply contradicts their decision on Khaleda," Azam said. "She paid tax before the expiry of the scheme and no tax evasion case has so far been filed against her to justify the refusal on the part of the revenue board." Khaleda along with 11 others, including his youngest son Arafat Rahman, are facing a graft charge, brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission, of violating tender conditions in appointing an indenting house for container handling. The commission is also investigating at least three other corruption charges against her. | ||
| ||
   |
|
[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.
* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
