Govt raises BTRC revenue target by Tk1,700cr, Commission says goal 'unrealistic'
BTRC wrote to the finance ministry last week, saying nearly half of its revenue comes from spectrum charges, but there's no scope for new spectrum auctions or higher charges, as costs could be passed on to users
At the start of the current 2025-26 fiscal year, the finance ministry raised the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) revenue target by nearly Tk1,700 crore – a goal the commission says is "unrealistic given current market conditions."
BTRC wrote to the finance ministry last week, saying nearly half of its revenue comes from spectrum charges, but there's no scope for new spectrum auctions or higher charges, as costs could be passed on to users.
It also cautioned that its revenue could actually decline this year as the advance income tax (AIT) on mobile operators was raised from 10% to 20% in the last FY25.
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BTRC officials said that based on past revenue trends, the finance ministry initially set a Tk3,825 crore revenue target for FY26. On 13 July, two weeks into the fiscal year, the ministry instructed the Post and Telecommunications Ministry to ensure BTRC meets this target. In FY25, BTRC collected around Tk2,375 crore.
But on 24 July, during a Budget Working Group meeting, the target was raised to Tk5,484 crore. On 29 July, the post and telecommunications ministry requested reverting the target to Tk3,825 crore, but the finance ministry refused and asked for written justification for any reduction.
What BTRC said in the letter
In a letter dated 12 October to Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder, BTRC highlighted that a significant portion of its revenue comes from spectrum auctions. However, there is no scope to increase revenue from this source, and no additional revenue can be generated through new auctions. In FY25, 48% of BTRC's revenue came solely from spectrum charges.
In the letter, BTRC's Director of Finance, Accounts & Revenue, Shazeda Parvin, said that the commission collected Tk1,092.70 crore from mobile operators under the revenue-sharing framework last fiscal year, accounting for 46% of its total revenue.
She said that unless mobile operators' income increases, there is no possibility of additional revenue. The growth in mobile operators' income has slowed compared to previous years.
Impact of higher AIT
BTRC said, "In previous years, mobile operators paid a 10% AIT. In FY25, the AIT rate was increased to 20%, which has reduced the commission's revenue. Furthermore, since 1 July, a 20% AIT is applied to all revenue from tower-sharing operators, which is expected to further lower revenue in the current fiscal year.
Revenue collection from certain segments has also decreased in FY25: income from International Gateway (IGW) operators fell 26% compared to FY24, and revenue from submarine cable operators dropped 41%, negatively affecting overall BTRC revenue, according to Shazeda Parvin.
Govt response
When asked about BTRC's rationale, a monitoring cell official from the finance ministry told TBS that raising revenue targets for BTRC and several other organisations is part of the government's effort to increase overall revenue collection. Feedback from these organisations will be analysed to determine the next steps.
