Direct tax on mobile phone use
- 15% VAT imposed on FY16
- 3% supplementary duty imposed on FY16
- 1% surcharge imposed on FY15
- SD increased in FY20
The cost of talking on mobile phone may increase from this month as the supplementary duty on phone talks likely to be increased in next budget.
This is because the government looks to chase a bigger revenue target riding on the essential services sector that generates more than Tk 30,000 crore in turnover a year.
The existing 10 per cent supplementary duty on phone calls, data use, texting and other services may rise to 15 per cent in fiscal 2020-21, said a senior official of the finance ministry, asking not to be named, reports the Daily Star.
The budget for the next fiscal year might be announced on June 11 and this will be effective from the day of announcement if the supplementary duty (SD) gets increased.
Apart from the 10 per cent SD, mobile phone users now have to pay 15 per cent VAT and 1 per cent surcharge on their bills.
If the SD goes up as planned, customers will foot a bill of Tk 133.0725 to get a service of Tk 100, or against each Tk 100 topped up, a user would get services not more than Tk 75.147, according to officials.
According to NBR sources, mobile operators are one of the most levied sector in VAT department and Mobile phones and SIM cards were the third biggest sources of VAT and SD after cigarette and construction firms generating Tk 4,800 crore in fiscal 2017-18, up 12 per cent from the previous year.
Read this report in Bengali here
