Mobile calling and internet costs increased

Supplementary duty on mobile calls and internet services has been increased in the next budget. Currently, 15 percent VAT is levied on talktime and internet services. It has been further increased by 5 percent to 20 percent. This amount is deducted while recharging the mobile.

Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali said this while presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on Thursday (June 6).

The increase in supplementary tariff will increase the cost of mobile phone calls and internet usage. From the upper class to the middle class, the mobile phone is a very necessary service for the lower class. Besides talking, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp—these have become part of life. As a result, the cost of running these will increase.

Currently, to get talk time of 100 taka, you have to recharge 133 taka 25 paisa. Due to the new offer, you will have to recharge 139 taka to get 100 taka talk time. To put it more simply, if you recharge 100 taka, the government will get 28 taka as duty-tax. The customer will get talk time equal to the remaining amount.

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Earlier in the 2015-16 budget, a supplementary duty of 3 percent was imposed on mobile calls for the first time. Later it was increased to 15 percent in several steps.

The price of SIM will also increase

The increase in supplementary duty and value added tax (VAT) will increase the cost of mobile phone SIM and e-SIM. In the budget, Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali has proposed to increase the supplementary duty on SIM from 15 percent to 20 percent and VAT on e-SIM from Tk 200 to Tk 300.

While presenting the budget, he said that by increasing the supplementary duty and VAT, the customer will have to spend more money to buy new mobile phone connections. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, there were 193.7 million active SIMs in the country till April this year.