Mobile phones to get costlier

While placing the budget for the next fiscal, the finance minister today proposed raising VAT (value-added tax) on mobile phones to 15 percent from 10 percent, which means prices of cell phones will go up.
Some Companies are assembling quality mobile phones in Bangladesh. They have to pay 15 percent VAT at the assembling stage, the minister pointed out, adding that there is only 10 percent VAT on imports of mobile phones.
"This has created uneven competition between local assembling industries and imports."
In view of this, he proposed to impose 15 percent VAT on mobile phones at the import stage.