Mobile phone use is likely to get costlier as Finance Minister AMA Muhith has proposed 5% supplementary duty imposition on mobile phone services (voice and data).
While placing the Budget for fiscal 2015-16, Muhith said: “I propose to impose 5% supplementary duty on the services provided through SIM and RIM card of mobile phone.”
The minister also proposed cut in the existing Tk 300 tax for new mobile phone subscriptions. Now it will be Tk 100.
However, the SIM replacement tax of Tk 100 remains unchanged.
Earlier, the mobile operators in the country urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to eliminate Tk300 tax on the SIM and RIM cards and withdraw the replacement tax to ensure the growth of the telecom sector.
Leaders at the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh argued that the existing SIM tax was not only a hindrance to the growth of the mobile sector, but also contradictory to the government’s vision for establishing a digital Bangladesh.
However, telecom experts said the 5% supplementary duty may do more harm than good.