The government has decided to impose one percent surcharge on SIM and RIM of mobile phones.
The decision was approved at the weekly meeting of the cabinet chaired by prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.
If the decision to impose the surcharge comes into effect, the government will earn Tk 140 crore a year, according to an official estimate.
The government has tried to justify the move, by saying that the revenue to be coming from the surcharge will be spent on health and education.
The decision will be effective once parliament passes a bill in this regard, cabinet secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told newsmen after the meeting.
The proposed development surcharge and levy act-2015 will be tabled in parliament soon after scrutiny, he added.
The rate of the surcharge might be changed as well through a gazette notification.
The money to be coming from the one percent surcharge will be deposited with the exchequer by the mobile phone operators, the cabinet secretary said.
-Prothom Alo
