The telecom regulator and Grameenphone have initiated negotiations regarding late fees of around Tk 6,000 crore based on an audit claim, as both parties seek an out-of-court settlement on the matter.

A committee of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), headed by vice-chairman Md Aminul Haque, already sat with officials of the country's top mobile network operator multiple times.

"We have heard elaborately from them (Grameenphone) and we have also expressed our views," Haque said.

"We have reached a certain point, but we can't say whether it is now going in a positive or negative direction. Because our dialogue is still going on," he added.

"It will take time to reach a decision."

The telecom regulator ran an audit into Grameenphone's financials from its inception to December 2014 and claimed Tk 12,579 crore from GP.

The claims include unpaid annual spectrum fees, value added tax, and revenue sharing.

However, Grameenphone disputed the claims.

The dispute triggered a legal battle between the operator and the BTRC, with the company filing cases in 2019.

Based on audits of GP from 1997 to 2014, the BTRC sent a notice in April 2019 asking it to clear the payments.

Later, GP filed a case before a district court contesting the claims. The Supreme Court in November of that year ordered the operator to pay Tk 2,000 crore to the commission in three months.

Afterward, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court directed Grameenphone to deposit Tk 1,000 crore by February 2020 and another Tk 1,000 crore by May 2020. GP complied.

Of the Tk 12,579 crore, the operator hasn't yet cleared any of the Tk 6,100 crore slapped as a late fee.

However, it paid over Tk 2,392 crore out of Tk 4,085 crore owed to the National Board of Revenue.

The BTRC's vice-chairman said Grameenphone has already paid Tk 2,300 crore of the principal amount.

"The principal amount has virtually been paid," he said.

The development comes as the operator expressed its willingness to resolve the matter with the BTRC and subsequently the commission exchanged letters with the ministry regarding that.

After getting the green signal from the ministry, the commission recently started the process, Haque said.

"The parties can sit and settle out of court. If they reach a settlement, the case is disposed of," he added.

We want an amicable solution on this issue, Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of GP, told The Daily Star recently.