The new duty structure for mobile sets and cars is set to make luxury-loving people a bit downhearted and those in low-income bracket relaxed to some extent.
People will be able to buy low-cost handsets at cheaper prices compared to earlier market prices, as the budget for fiscal 2009-10 finally cut the duty on mobile set imports to 12 percent from proposed 25 percent.
The duty on mobile set was fixed at a flat Tk 300 last fiscal year.
In line with the new duty structure, importers will have to pay Tk 240 instead of last fiscal year's Tk 300 as duty for a handset worth Tk 2,000.
In contrast, high-end sets now ranging from Tk 30,000 to Tk 50,000 will become pricier as these will have to count duties of Tk 3,600-Tk 6,000 that will be adjusted with the prices.
Bangladesh imports on an average 50 lakh mobile sets each year.
"We welcome the government's decision to reduce the tax on mobile import," said Prem Chand, managing director of Nokia Emerging Asia.
He said the government's recognition to the mobile industry would help telecom services reach the mass.
Car price will increase by minimum Tk 2 lakh under the new tax structure, said Habibullah Dawn, president of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association.
He said duties on 1,000cc-1,500cc cars have been raised from 20 percent to 30 percent, while duties on 1,501cc-2,000cc cars increased to 100 percent from 60 percent.
Duties for 2,001cc to above 4,000cc have been fixed at 250 percent to 500 percent, which in a sense have made these cars 'banned', said Dawn.
He said the government also reduced dealership discount from 20 percent to 10 percent and added 5 percent regulatory tax and increased advance trade VAT to 2.25 percent from earlier 1.5 percent that will cast a shadow on car market.
The government will realise the impact soon, he warned.
Source: thedailystar.net
