Tax on SIM Card - Saifur snubs mobile operators' plea

Wed Jun 22, 2005 7:59 pm            

Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday turned down the private cell phone operators' plea to withdraw the newly imposed tax of Tk 1,200 on every mobile SIM (subscriber identification module) card and connection.

Top executives of all four private cell phone operators met the finance minister and urged him to reconsider the issue, drawing his attention to the fact that the imposition of the new tax will severely affect the growth of the country's fast growing mobile telephony sector, meeting sources said.


GrameenPhone CEO Erik Aas, Banglalink CEO Lars P Reichelt, and representatives of the CityCell and AKTEL Siddique Ali Miah and Fazlur Rahman called on Saifur Rahman at his office.


"The government has not imposed any extra tax on cell phone connection; it has rather diverted the tax from mobile handset to new connection," sources attending the meeting told The Daily Star quoting Saifur as saying.


The finance minister said the previous tax on handset has been reduced from Tk 1,500 to Tk 300. "The decision will help curb smuggling of cell phone handset in the country," he said, adding that from now on mobile phone operators will import handsets directly and customers will get good handsets.


The delegation told the finance minister that the imposition of the new tax will also have adverse effect on the government's revenue collection and its direct and indirect income from the tax and VAT will reduce as the growth of the sector is going to be hampered.


The finance minister suggested the private cell phone operators to reduce their high call tariff and blamed them for not providing reduced rates on weekends. Reduction of call tariff will ultimately help further growth of the sector, he said.


In a bid to reduce pressure on the customers, the finance minister suggested them to arrange instalments for selling SIM cards.


Assuring the operators of all co-operations from the government, he called upon them to help curb tax evasion in the sector and enhance facilities for the cell phone users.


Earlier, the delegation of private cell phone operators met with the Post and Telecommunications Minister Aminul Haq, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Khairuzzaman Chowdhury, and World Bank Country Director Christine Wallich in a bid to pursue the government to reconsider its decision.


The government had reduced the mobile handset tariff in fiscal 2004-05 to Tk 1,500 from the previous Tk 4,000.

Sun Jun 25, 2006 3:58 pm