The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

National Board of Revenue (NBR) could not achieve its first quarter target of revenue collection this fiscal due to increase in the price of cell phone SIM by mobile companies in the country, according to NBR sources.

The NBR has collected revenue of Tk 11,165 crore against its target of Tk 13,625 crore from July to September this fiscal.

The Grameen Phone Limited, a major cell phone company has paid VAT of Tk 277.66 crore to NBR for the first quarter (July to September) of this fiscal.

It had paid Tk 282.65 crore in the first quarter of the last fiscal 2007-08, sources said.

The company has paid Tk 5 crore less as VAT to NBR due to poor sale of SIM cards since September, sources added.

Banglalink (Sheba Telecom Private Ltd), another cell phone company had paid Tk 49.75 crore as VAT in August while it paid Tk 17.79 crore in September after the increase in the price of SIM card.

Following the price hike of SIM card, the sale of SIM has fallen substantially, sources said. It directly affected revenue collection target, NBR sources added.

Cell Mobile Phone Company ATM International Bangladesh Limited (AKTEL) provided Tk 61.11 crore in the first quarter of 2008-09, while it had paid Tk 66.26 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal year as VAT.

Warid Telecom International Limited has paid VAT of Tk 49.11 crore from July to September this fiscal while Tk 72.38 crore for the same period last year.

Teletalk Bangladesh Limited has paid Tk 2.38 crore less as VAT for the first three months of this fiscal.