In a key meeting today, the Finance and Telecommunications Ministries are likely to make a decision on reducing or withdrawing the Tk100 tax for mobile phone SIM card replacement, sources have said.
In another meeting with mobile operators on July 14 at the Gonobhohon, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy reportedly assured them about withdrawing the Tk100 tax, implemented in the FY2014-15 budget.
The ruling Awami League says Joy is the prime minister’s information and communications technology adviser.
Joy agreed with the mobile operators’ idea of cancelling the tax on grounds that it would reduce the cost of internet usage in the country.
Today’s meeting that will accommodate the National Board of Revenue (NBR), may also make a decision on the longstanding Tk3,062.16 crore six replacement tax claim between the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and four private sector mobile operators.
The BTRC says the operators - Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel – have dodged over Tk3,000 crore tax while replacing mobile SIM cards.
On the other hand, operators claim that they did not need to pay fresh tax because they had only replaced damaged or lost SIM cards for which taxes were already paid.
Earlier, a review committee, comprising members of the NBR, BTRC and mobile operators, proposed settling the tax issue for a payment of Tk511.6 crore, following a court directive to settle the issue out of the court.
The government did not accept that proposal.
However, in today’s meeting, there are chances that the government may propose a 10-12% administrative charge which may need the operators to pay settlement tax in the Tk300 crore to Tk370 crore range, sources have said.
Before that meeting, the telecom ministry is scheduled to sit in another meeting with the BTRC officials and representatives of the operators.
Despite being included the latest budget, implementation of the new tax for SIM replacement has remained pending because the operators are still to agree with it.
NBR Chairman Ghulam Hossain confirmed the Dhaka Tribune that they were going to sit today.
However, he said if the provision for SIM replacement tax remained, the NBR would be able to collect a lot of additional revenue from the country’s “most lucrative sector.”
According to the FY2014-15 budget, the government wishes to collect Tk183,355 crore from indirect taxes.
Market sources said operators sold around 15 million SIM cards and replaced around 1 million of them every year.