Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday wanted to know about the action plans and updated steps of the 16-member-‘technical committee’ formed on Monday to create a congenial environment for the scandal-hit digital commerce sector.
It also wanted to know from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) whether it has any policy to collect vat and tax from the e-commerce entities in the country.
It also wanted to know from Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) as to what steps they have been taken already or they have taken any steps over the alleged money laundering by the e-commerce platforms.
The respondents, NBR, BFIU and the technical committee, have been asked to comply with the court query by November 8 this year.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order verbally after holding hearing on three separate writ petitions filed seeking court directives over the e-commerce scams.
After completing the yesterday’s (Tuesday) hearing the court said, “The government has already formed a committee on Monday. We need to know the scopes of their actions and their steps regarding the e-commerce scams before passing any order.”
The court also fixed November 8 for further hearing on the issue.
Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir filed a petition on September 23 on behalf of 33 consumers of the ecommerce platform ‘e-orange.shop’.
Two other Supreme Court lawyers Md Anwarul Islam and Barrister Pallob Kabir M Humaun filed two other writ petitions as public interest litigations seeking some other directions over the e-commerce scams.
The High Court bench on Tuesday held a joint hearing on the three writ petitions and asked the respondents to submit their statements over the court queries.
Meanwhile, the government has formed a 16-member ‘technical committee’ to create a congenial environment for the scandal-hit digital commerce sector, sources said.
Lawyers Mohammad Shishir Manir, Md Anwarul Islam and Pallob Kabir M Humaun appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners, while deputy attorney general Bepul Bagmar represented the state.
