SANGSAD BHABAN, June 11, 2026 (BSS) – Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has proposed a series of tax reforms in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget for the mobile and telecommunications sector aimed at expanding digital access and strengthening the country’s digital economy.

While unveiling the maiden national budget of BNP government at the Jatiya Sangsad, the Finance Minister in his budget speech today said the budget proposes a reduction in the withholding tax rate in the mobile network services sector from 12 percent to 10 percent.

He also proposed the full withdrawal of the existing 20 percent withholding tax on revenue sharing, license fees and other charges received by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

In addition, the government has announced incentives for local mobile phone manufacturing, including a reduction in Advance Income Tax (AIT) on the import of 22 raw materials used in mobile production from the current 5 percent and 2 percent rates to 1 percent.

The budget further proposes extending existing duty exemptions on raw materials for mobile manufacturing until June 30, 2030, aimed at supporting affordable domestic production and boosting exports.

Conditional VAT exemption facilities for mobile phone manufacturing and assembly have also been extended until the same date.

According to the budget documents, these reforms form part of a broader strategy to raise the ICT and telecommunications sector’s contribution to GDP to 10 percent within the next five years.