A businessman has filed a complaint in a court against four people, including Barisal City Corporation (BCC) mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah. Businessman SAM Reza Taher filed the case in the Barisal Senior Assistant Judge’s Court on Sunday afternoon alleging non-issuance of trade license.
According to court sources, Barisal Senior Assistant Judge Rubaiya Amena has accepted the plaintiff’s application and kept it for further order.
The plaintiff, businessman SAM Reza Taher, owns an organization called SMK Plainsheet and Corrugated Making in BSCIC Industrial Estate. In addition to the mayor, he has sued the city corporation’s chief executive officer, chief revenue officer and trade license branch supervisor.
Plaintiff’s lawyer Azad Rahman said Reza Taher rented a 2,000-square-foot factory at Plot No. 41 in BSIC Industrial City for Tk 18,000 per month to make corrugated iron and plainsheets. He applied for a license to run a business at the BCC’s trade license branch on October 12. If the branch does not take any action in this regard, he applied to the BCC mayor on November 3 seeking permission for a trade license. Although 4 days have elapsed since the application, the respondents have not taken any action. Reza Taher lost about Tk 25 lakh and there is a risk of more irreparable damage in the future, he claimed.
Lawyer Azad Rahman further said that when he went to the office of the defendants on November 16 and demanded a trade license, the defendants informed him that they would not be given a trade license. Earlier on November 8, the businessman had sent a legal notice to the city corporation. Reza Tahir filed a case in the court on Sunday.
City Corporation CEO. Farooq Hossain and Chief Revenue Officer Babul Haldar said they were not aware of Reza Taher’s allegations. He said that they will look into the matter.
Shahidul Islam, supervisor of the trade license branch, said there are 75 industries in the Barisal industrial city. They have three years of holding tax arrears. Due to this, the issuance of trade license in the industrial city has been suspended.
