DHAKA: English medium schools in the country will have to pay value added tax (VAT) as a vacation bench of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court (SC) put a stay order of a High Court’s (HC) previous stay order in this regard on Wednesday.

Vacation bench Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain issued the stay order for eight weeks after the prosecution filed a plea with the court.

Deputy attorney general SM Moniruzzaman said, “There is no bar for government to take 7.5 percent VAT over tuition fees of the English medium schools”.

On September 17, an HC bench comprising Justice Shamim Hasnain and Justice Mohammad Ullah put a stay order over realizing VAT for six months after hearing a writ filed by two guardians.

Shahdin Malik moved for the writ petition in the court.

He said in these days, no one pays VAT on education; why, then, the students of English medium will pay it?

Later, the court put a stay order over realizing 7.5 percent VAT for six months. It also issued a rule upon the government asking why the decision of imposing VAT on English medium schools would not be illegal.

Internal Resources Division (IRD) secretary Nojibur Rahman, also chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), and education ministry secretary were made respondents to the writ.

BDST: 1718 HRS, OCT 14, 2015
SR/RR/SMS