Grameenphone Ltd on Tuesday in a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) labelled the regulator’s recent audit demand of Tk 12,579.95 crore as ‘unfounded and without any legal basis’.

‘The operator has requested that the demand be withdrawn and also requested discussions with a view to finding an amicable resolution,’ it said in a press release, reports the UNB.

On April 2 last, BTRC issued a demand against GP of Tk 8,494.01 crore to the telecom regulator and Tk 4,085.94 crore to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) within a period of 10 working days.

The claim originated from an Information and Systems Audit, conducted by the JVCA of Toha Khan Zaman & Co, on GP’s operations from inception in 1997 till December, 2014.

Approximately BDT 6,194.3 crore, or nearly 73%, of the BDT 8494.01 crore claimed on behalf of BTRC, is the interest amount being charged up to December 2017.

With regard to NBR portion of the demand (representing approximately 32% of the total claim), GP also pointed out that BTRC has no authority to raise any demand on behalf of NBR.

GP reiterates its request to BTRC to withdraw the demand and to engage in discussions with a view to find an amicable resolution.