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The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has dismissed a Tk 1,924 crore VAT and SD demand by National Board of Revenue (NBR) against British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited (BATBC).
The publicly-traded multinational tobacco manufacturer disclosed the information through a material statement on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website on Thursday.
In the statement, the company said that the apex court had dismissed the NBR’s claim of VAT and SD in December 2021 and a certified copy of the judgment was received on Wednesday.
“It was confirmed by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh that the retrospective VAT and SD demand of NBR of Tk 1,924 crore against BATBC were unlawful and unjustified. As a result, there is no claim against the company in this matter,’ the statement mentioned.
It also said that, on November 23, 2013, the Large Tax Unit (LTU) of the NBR served a retrospective VAT and SD demand, totaling Tk 1,924 crore, against BATBC for reintroducing Bristol and Pilot cigarette brands in the mid-segment rather than the low segment.
The company filed appeals on April 12, 2016, in respect of the judgment of the High Court dated March 30, 2016, and obtained a stay of the High Court judgment.
In July 2018, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court finished hearing the appeals, and pronounced its judgment in BATBC’s favor on July 25, 2018.
However, the NBR filed a review petition against the judgment on March 25, 2020.
The review petitions were subsequently heard on December 9, 2021, and the apex court dismissed the review petition.
In 2020, the multinational tobacco manufacturer posted a net profit of Tk 1,089 crore, posting a 36 per cent rise from Tk 925 crore recorded in 2019.
On Thursday, BATBC’s share price rose to Tk 650.80 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Listed in 1977, the company’s present market capitalization is Tk 35,046 crore, its paid-up capital is Tk 540 crore, and it has Tk 2,868 crore in surplus reserve.
