Pvt univs have to pay income tax

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday scrapped a High Court verdict that declared illegal the government orders which imposed 15 percent income tax on private universities and private medical, dental and engineering colleges.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Borhanuddin delivered the judgement after disposing of 44 separate appeals filed by the government challenging the HC verdict.

The bench also included Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique.

Details of the grounds and observations, based on which the Appellate Division disposed the appeals, will be known once the full text of the verdict is released.

Contacted, Additional Attorney General Sk Md Morshed said that private universities and private medical, dental and engineering colleges must pay income tax to the state following the SC verdict.

"But it's not clear how and from when they'll pay the income tax as the full text of the apex court verdict is yet to be released and its observations could not yet be known."  

Omar Sadat, a lawyer for the private universities, told this correspondent that the implication of the Appellate Division verdict cannot be specifically said at this moment as its obversions were not disclosed yet.   

"Therefore, it cannot be said right away that the private universities and private medical, dental and engineering colleges must pay income tax."

Following 46 separate writ petitions, by 12 private universities and a student, the HC on September 5, 2016, delivered the verdict declaring illegal the 15 percent income tax on the educational institutions in question.

The HC had earlier scrapped three orders on the imposition of tax issued by the government on these private institutions in 2007 and 2010.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, Additional Attorney General Sk Md Morshed and Deputy Attorney General Samarendranath Biswas represented the state, while senior lawyers AF Hassan Ariff and Probir Neogi, Barrister Omar Sadat and Barrister Khairul Alam Chowdhury appeared for the writ petitioners.