High Court rule on govt over SIM tax

[ict_of_bangladesh]

The High Court on Saturday issued a rule on the government to show
cause why the tariff value of each SIM card was fixed at Tk. 2,172, on
which the supplementary duty of 35 per cent and value- added tax of 15
per cent is being realised.

A High Court bench of Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and
Justice Md Abdul Hye also stayed the operation of the government
notification, so far as it relates to the petitioners, till disposal of
the rule.

The court passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by a
journalist, Abu Sayeed Khan, challenging the statutory regulatory order
issued by the National Board of Revenue on June 9, imposing the
supplementary duty and value added tax on SIM cards of mobile phones.

Due to this order, Sayeed will now have to be allowed to buy a SIM card
from any mobile phone operator at its earlier price.

The High Court order also made a way for the mobile phone operators to
go to the High Court to challenge the fixation of the tariff value and
imposition of supplementary duty and VAT on the tariff value of the SIM
cards, Asaduzzaman, a counsel of the petitioner, told an english daily.

According to him, if any mobile phone company files such a writ
petition, there is every possibility of obtaining general stay on the
notification, he opined.

Pleading for the petitioner, Rokanuddin Mahmud told the court that the
statutory regulatory order was issued, fixing tariff value of SIM cards
at Tk. 2,172 and imposing a supplementary duty of 35 per cent and value
added tax on 15 per cent of the tariff value. Both the duties caused a
subscriber to pay additional money of Tk. 1,200 per SIM card.

The tariff value has been fixed without following the existing laws and
rules, he argued.

The government has to fix the tariff value of any good in conformity
with certain laws and rules. According to the laws, the government has
to fix the tariff value considering the latest rate of good in the
international market, and the tariff value has to be fixed at the
lowest price in the international market, he contended.

In the international market, a SIM card used in the country costs not
more than $1.25 and the tariff value may not exceed Tk. 150, he
claimed.

Rokanuddin Mahmud, with Asaduzzaman, Afzal Hossain and Fayez Ahmed,
appeared for the petitioner.