1pc surcharge on mobile phone use

A couple checks mHealth service information on cell phone. Photo: Courtesy

The government today approved a move to introduce one percent surcharge on calls and other uses of mobile phones.

The amount collected from such surcharge will be spent in health and education sectors, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said while briefing reporters on the decision.

The decision came at a regular meeting of the cabinet at the Secretariat this afternoon.

If someone spends Tk 200 per month for mobile phone calls, the user s/he will have to pay Tk 2 per month in surcharge, which will be automatically deducted by the mobile phone operators concerned, the cabinet secretary said.

Once the law is implemented, the government will earn Tk 140 crore annually.

The move will come into effect after the government publishes a gazette notification in this regard.