The Supreme Court said on Thursday that Ncell, a private sector telecom company, can pay only Rs 21.10 billion in capital gains tax against the Rs39.06 billion determined by the tax authorities.

The Supreme Court on Thursday released the full text of its decision on the Ncell tax issue, in response to a writ filed by the telecom company earlier in April this year.

The Large Taxpayers’ Office on April 16 had determined the combined tax liability of Ncell and its parent company, Axiata, at Rs62.63 billion, including interest and fees based on Sections 117 (1) A, 117 (1) C, 118, 119 and 120 (A) of the Income Tax Act.

[Read: Ncell lodges petition at Supreme Court challenging tax amount set by Large Taxpayers Office]

Stating that Ncell had already paid Rs23.57 billion in capital gains tax, the tax office had ordered the telecom giant to pay the remaining Rs39.06 billion within a week, starting April 16.

But Ncell had filed a writ at the Supreme Court on April 22, just a day ahead of the expiry of the deadline, saying that the tax authorities had wrongly determined its dues. Ncell said that its capital gains tax liability from a three-year-old Ncell buyout deal stood at Rs14.36 billion, and not Rs39.06 billion, as it had already paid Rs23.57 billion.

In August, Justices Tej Bahadur KC, Purusottam Bhandarik, Dambar Bahadur Shahi, Susmalata Mathema and Manoj Kumar Karna had scrapped the tax liability determined by Large Taxpayers’ Office, stating that additional fees, imposed as per Section 120 (A) of the Income Tax Act, should not be part of Ncell’s total tax liability.