Budget 2026-27: Tk 300 ‘SIM tax’ withdrawn, 15% VAT imposed

The government is taking initiatives to gradually reduce taxes at a reasonable rate for ICT development, Khosru says

The government has decided to withdraw the Tk 300 “SIM tax”, a longstanding demand from the telecom sector.

However, it has also imposed a 15 percent value-added tax (VAT) on the supply price of SIMs or e-SIMs in the budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Thursday, "To develop ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a thrust sector, the government has taken extensive initiatives to reform tax, VAT and licensing policies in this sector.

“Currently, the tax rate in the telecom sector is about 50 percent and in the information technology sector it is about 25 percent. This rate is much higher than in other countries around the world.

“Therefore, the government has taken initiatives to gradually reduce such taxes at a reasonable rate for the development of this sector. As part of this, I am proposing to completely withdraw the tax at the rate of Tk 300 imposed on each mobile SIM in order to make mobile services more accessible to the common people of the country.

“As a result, there will be a decrease in total revenue of Tk 12 billion in the next fiscal year."

However, the finance bill proposes to impose a VAT at the rate of 15 percent on the supply price of each SIM card or e-SIM.

The new budget also proposes reducing the rate of withholding tax on mobile network services from 12 percent to 10 percent, and the 20 percent withholding tax applicable on revenue sharing, license fees or charges received by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).