SIM cards are going to be costlier as Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed increasing the supplementary duty by 20% in the 2021-22 fiscal year.
Earlier, the supplement duty on SIM cards was 15%.
If the 20% hike is imposed, the supplementary duty will stand at 35%, according to the budget speech by the finance minister on Thursday.
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But the proposal is not likely to affect mobile operators as most of them procures SIM cards from seven local manufacturers.
Operators said issues including minimum tax, corporate tax, SIM tax, and direct operator billing should be addressed in this budget which will help to accelerate connecting more people to the digital journey.
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Responding to the budget, Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi, a mobile phone operator, congratulated the government for providing the largest budget in the history of the country.
"The customs duty increased. But we will not notice any impact as we procure SIM cards from local producers. This will benefit for local companies who are in production," Shahed Alam added.