Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, has announced a significant reduction in taxes on mobile phone imports and locally produced phones.
Speaking at a briefing on Thursday (January 1) at the Foreign Service Academy auditorium in Dhaka, he said the customs duty on imported mobile phones has been reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent. The tax on domestically manufactured phones has also been lowered from 10 percent to 5 percent.
“The government’s move is expected to further expand the mobile phone industry in Bangladesh,” Shafiqul Alam said.
He noted that a large number of used mobile phones are imported into the country, refurbished, and sold, causing financial loss to consumers while depriving the government of tax revenue. “With this step, we hope demand for locally produced phones will increase, and their prices will become more affordable,” he added.
Regarding the distribution of textbooks to students for the new academic year, the press secretary said, “All textbooks will be delivered to students by January 15. After consulting with teachers, errors in 123 textbooks have been corrected.”
Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar, deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, added that 83 percent of the textbooks have already been distributed to students. “The government is working to ensure the remaining textbooks are delivered on time,” he said.
