BTRC audit was erroneous: GP

Dhaka, Oct 4 — The nation's top mobile operator has said an erroneous audit has led the telecom regulator to claim Tk 30.34 billion in unpaid fees from the company.

Grameenphone on Tuesday said that the audit firm engaged by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) did not follow national and international standards, despite their repeated objections.

"The audit firm did not pay heed to any of GP's objections during the audit," GP chief communications officer Kazi Monirul Kabir said at a press conference.

"A letter has been sent to BTRC clarifying that the audit was based on erroneous ideas," he said.

BTRC on Monday sent a letter to the operator, saying it owed an amount of Tk 21.46 billion in BTRC fees and Tk 8.87 billion as revenues to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

Earlier Tuesday, BTRC chairman Zia Ahmed said legal action would be taken if the dues were not cleared within 21 days of notice. He, however, added the commission was open to discussions with Grameenphone if they needed clarification.

Kabir said the regulator's letter would affect GP shareholders and foreign investors. "Foreign investors would now think twice, wondering if their investments are safe."

He said the press conference had been called to clarify GP's position to the public, shareholders, 5,000 permanent employees and 450,000 associated personnel.

'DIDN' ASK FOR CLARIFICATION'

GP head of legal and compliance Jaki Omar pointed out what he thought were discrepancies in the audit report.

"It mentions revenue sharing between GP and BTRC. They have included not only call charges but also other services. They thought the revenue sharing comes from the company's total income."

Omar said the audit firm gave a report on international outgoing calls that it did not understand.

On the matter of NBR's SIM tax, Omar said it was not clear to GP why BTRC would make claims on behalf of NBR, and asserted that the company had never been a tax defaulter.

BTRC chairman claimed that the regulator had found an additional 10 million customers that GP had failed to mention.

When asked about this figure, Omar said, "GP has more than 3.5 crore clients at present and it has never concealed any information about this."