Mobile call rates and internet costs in Bangladesh are set to increase following Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali's proposal of a Tk7,96,900 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
The budget, presented in the parliament at 3:00pm today (6 June), includes a hike in the supplementary duty (SD) on services provided through mobile phone SIM/RIM cards, increasing from 15% to 20%.
This adjustment is expected to lead to higher mobile call rates for consumers.
Meanwhile, the VAT on each SIM card and e-SIM card will increase from Tk200 to Tk300, making new SIM cards more expensive.
Internet users will also face higher costs, as the supplementary duty on mobile phone internet usage is set to rise.
Earlier, customers paid 15% VAT and 15% supplementary duty on mobile internet services.
With the new budget, this has been increased by an additional 5%, along with a 1% surcharge.
As a result, for a Tk100 internet package, users will now pay Tk30.65 in VAT and supplementary duty, leaving them with Tk69.35 for actual internet usage.
This is up from the previous deduction of Tk27, which left Tk73 for usage.
The new tax rates and duties will take effect immediately, impacting the 190 million SIM card users in Bangladesh, including approximately 130 million mobile internet users.
The budget proposed today, which is 4.6% larger than the current fiscal year’s, marks the first for the Awami League government’s fourth consecutive term following their victory in the 12th National Parliament elections on 7 January.
Despite the increase, this year’s budget growth is modest compared to the average annual rise of 11% over the past five years.
