The price of smartphones is set to increase under the proposed budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The government plans to raise the customs duty on smartphones to 25 per cent from the existing 10 per cent, reports bbdnews24.com.
“As smartphones are used by affluent people, I propose to increase customs duty of smartphones to 25 per cent,” said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The customs duty of feature phones on the other will remain unchanged at 10 per cent, considering that it is used mainly by ‘relatively poor people.’
The finance minister has also proposed reducing the duty on mobile phone charger connector pin and SIM slot ejector pin to 10 per cent from 25 per cent.
The move is likely to benefit domestic manufacturers of cell phones triggering a rise in the price of imported smart phones, according to industry insiders.
Currently, smart phones worth Tk 100 billion are being sold in the country.