Tk300 SIM tax proposed to be scrapped, revenue may decrease by Tk1,200

A relief news is going to come for mobile phone users in the new budget. The government is likely to propose to completely withdraw the existing tax of Tk300 imposed on mobile SIM cards. It is known that this announcement may come in the budget of the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27.

Finance Ministry sources said that this initiative is being taken to make mobile services more accessible to the common people of the country and to accelerate the development of the information technology sector. The government wants to develop the ICT sector as the highest priority sector. For this, there are plans for major reforms in tax, VAT and licensing policies.

Currently, the tax rate in the country's telecommunications sector is about 50 percent, which is higher than in many countries of the world. On the other hand, the tax rate in the information technology sector is about 25 percent. The government has taken initiatives to gradually reduce the tax burden in these sectors in line with international standards.

Sources say that as part of this policy, a decision is being made to completely waive the long-standing tax of Tk300 on mobile SIMs. As a result, customers will not have to spend extra money to buy new SIMs and it will be easier to get mobile connections.

However, this decision will require the government to give up a large amount of revenue. According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), if the SIM tax is withdrawn, the government's revenue revenue may decrease by about Tk1,200 crore in the next fiscal year.

Those concerned believe that although the revenue revenue may decrease slightly in the short term, this decision will play a positive role in expanding digital services, increasing new customers and developing the information technology sector in the long term.