The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has asked its licensed companies to submit information about advertisement spending on different types of online platforms, including social media.
The telecom regulator issued a letter in this regard on Saturday to companies belonging to multiple sectors, including mobile phone operators, and asked them to respond with their respective spending data within the next 10 working days.
The commission in its letter specified online platforms, which include Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Imo, Google, Yahoo, and Amazon.
The commission sent a letter in this regard to all mobile operators, internet service providers (ISP), TVAS, ATUP SMS aggregator operator chief executive or managing director, president of the Internet Service Provider Association of Bangladesh and general secretary of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.
Moreover, the commission provided a chart with columns such as a description of the ad, number of hits, transaction method, and money spent, and the organisations will have to submit their report on the basis of that chart.
Director General of the Systems and Services Department of BTRC Brigadier General Md Nasim Parvez said, “The telecom regulator is collecting the spending information for the Bangladesh Bank”.
“This data can give an idea on how much money is spent by the BTRC licensed companies, including mobile phone operators, and on which types of advertisements.”
Citing that the initiative also covers concerns from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Nasim mentions that the BTRC has also provided a sample Excel sheet to the companies for calculation.
“The letter asks companies to mention digital advertising payment method details, advertisement description or type, payment rate, currency, and the total amount paid.”
In October 2021, the High Court ordered the government to start collecting taxes, VAT and other charges on the revenues generated by the companies in the country.
