The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today scrapped a High Court verdict that declared illegal the government orders imposing 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 appeals filed by the government challenging the HC verdict.

The other three judges of the bench are Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, and Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique.

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

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

But it is not clear how and from when they will pay the income tax as the full text of the apex court verdict is yet to be released and its observations could not be known, he said.

Barrister 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 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 private universities and private medical, dental, and engineering colleges.

The HC also scrapped the 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 petitioners.