Mobile phone prices to fall as duty cut from 25% to 10%, says Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb

Special assistant to the chief adviser for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb has said that mobile phone prices in the domestic market will decrease following a reduction in import duties.

Speaking at a discussion titled “Reform roadmap for the ICT and telecom sector” at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Wednesday, January 14, he said, “Since the duty has been reduced, prices will definitely come down. As stakeholders of the sector, we have tried to bring the duty to the maximum tolerable level and have reduced it from 25 percent to 10 percent.”

He added that reducing duties is not directly the responsibility of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, but the government made its utmost effort to ease pressure on traders.

The National Board of Revenue issued a notification on the matter on Tuesday. As a result, the price of each imported mobile phone priced above Tk 30,000 is expected to decrease by approximately Tk 5,500. Locally assembled phones priced below Tk 30,000 are expected to see a price reduction of around Tk 1,500.

Regarding monitoring price reductions, he said the responsibility would lie with the NBR, the Ministry of Commerce and consumer rights organisations. He also said that duties were reduced by 60 percent for the benefit of traders importing phones priced above Tk 30,000 from abroad who are currently protesting.

Faiz Ahmed said mobile phones held in traders’ stock have been legalised and no phones will be blocked over the next three months. He remarked that despite all these measures, taking to the streets in protest is unfortunate and would be considered contrary to an investment-friendly environment.

Speakers at the discussion also included Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission commissioner Brigadier General retired Iqbal Ahmed, telecom expert Mahtab Uddin Ahmed and ICT Division white paper publication task force head Professor Niaz Asadullah.