The country’s mobile network operators yesterday requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to eliminate Tk300 as tax on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards in the upcoming budget.
They said the operators are paying the tax out of their own pockets to keep the SIM price affordable for customers, but the mobile market growth shrunk alarmingly when operators opted for an unsubsidised sale.
The removal of SIM tax will help them contribute more to the government exchequer, thus leading to the growth of revenues.
Leaders of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) made the proposal while placing a set of recommendations for consideration in the coming budget at a meeting with NBR at its headquarters.
“SIM tax does not exist in any country of the world so it acts like penalising the operators. Given the economic conditions of people in Bangladesh and market competitiveness, mobile operators do not collect SIM tax from their subscribers. They just pay tax by themselves,” Robi Chief Operating Officer Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said, demanding complete withdrawal of SIM tax.
Calling for a uniform corporate tax rate for all sectors, the association also demanded 30% corporate tax rate for listed mobile phone operators and 35% for those non-listed.
At present, the corporate tax rate for listed mobile operators is 40% while for non-listed it is 45%.
It also said NBR should provide 10% tax rebate for paying dividend.
The association also demanded withdrawal of 0.3% minimum tax on gross receipt as the section of minimum tax is against the spirit of income tax law.
AMTOB also requested the government to harmonise the customs duty on telecom equipment import as different types of tax are imposed on different equipment import.
The customs duty on telecom equipment import ranges between 3% (computer server and software) and 25%.
They said all types of imported telecom equipment supported by NOC from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission should be brought under SRO benefit with 5% customs duty.
The AMTOB also urged the government to exempt tax over internet modem import and 15% VAT over mobile internet services.
It also recommended that ‘treasury challan’ be allowed as an approved instrument to get VAT rebate as per section 9 of VAT act 1991 for any goods and services.
NBR senior member Farid Uddin chaired the meeting while AMTOB secretary general TIM Nurul Kabir, and high officials from all telecom network operators attended the meeting.
