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People's expenditure on mobile phone usage is increasing in the fiscal year 2024-25. Tk 100 more to buy a new SIM. Meanwhile, talking on mobile phones will cost more than before under the proposed budget in the fiscal year 2024-25.
To import or carry under baggage, one has to pay taxes on the mobile phone as well.
But the government has extended their tax benefits for one more year in the case of domestic phone manufacture and assembling.
This announcement came from Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali’s budget speech for FY25 proposed at the parliament on Thursday.
The minister proposed to fix a 20 per cent supplementary duty only upon the SIM/RUIM card enabled mobile telecom service (Service Code S012.10) instead of the existing 15 per cent. “I propose to fix TK 300 as Value Added Tax (VAT) for the supply of each SIM/e SIM card instead of the existing VAT amount of TK 200,” he said.
The sectors people concerned about the fact that people have to pay more to talk.
According to the budget speech, under the existing baggage rule, subject to the provision of section 3(5), a passenger can bring two mobile phones without payment of duties and taxes. The minister proposes amending the rules by allowing two used mobile phones without payment of duties and taxes and one new mobile phone with payment of all applicable duties and taxes.
Mahmood Ali said, “I propose the tenure of the notification no. SRO-229-Ain-/2019/65-VAT, dated: 30/06/2019 to be extended by one year, therefore till June 30, 2025, regarding the concessional facilities to the local manufacturing and assembling of mobile telephone sets or cellular phones.”
In response to the budget, Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association President Mohiuddin Ahmed said, “Forty per cent of our people do not use mobile phones. Increasing the price of SIM cards or the supplementary duty will increase the cost of talking on mobile phones.”
He also said that mobile operator companies may not increase the prices of bundle or recharge packages. However, currently, people get Tk 75 worth of talk time on a Tk 100 recharge. After implementing the proposed budget, they will get only Tk 72 worth of talk time.
It will hamper the government's initiative to build a digital and smart Bangladesh. So he demanded to withdraw such duty.
The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) has expressed concerns over the government’s recent decision to increase the supplementary duty on mobile services.
According to the AMTOB, this increase in duty will elevate the cost of voice and internet services, placing additional financial pressure on users, particularly those from marginalised communities. The higher VAT on SIM cards is expected to discourage new users, further slowing the growth of mobile connections in a country where 45 per cent of the population remains unconnected.
Mahmood Ali said, “Internet usage of the total population has increased 342 times from 0.23 per cent to 78.55 per cent between 2006 and 2023. During this period, the active number of mobile phone SIM has increased about 10 times from 1 crore 90 to 18 crore 86 lakhs 40 thousand, the number of digital services (by government agencies) reached 8 to 3 thousand 200 with an increase of 400 times, one stop center increased from 2 to 8 thousand 928, the number of government websites increased to 52 thousand 200 from only 98 with an increase of 533 times.”
