Big boost for digital transformation

The proposed budget is going to be a big boost for the digital transformation of the country as the government plans to offer tax holiday for the IT sector as well as for some electronic devices and accessories, said industry insiders.  

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget speech at the Parliament proposed tax exemption facility for cloud service providers, system integration, e-learning platform, e-book publications, mobile application development service and IT freelancing until 2024. 

He also proposed tax exemption, subject to certain conditions, for 10 years on production of some particular IT hardware if manufactured in Bangladesh. 

The list of products includes locally manufactured printer, toner cartridge, inkjet cartridge, parts of computer printer, computer, laptop, AIO, desktop, notebook, notepad, tab, keyboard, mouse, barcode or QR scanner, RAM, PCBA or motherboard, power bank, router, network switch, network device/hub, speaker, sound system, head phone, SSD or portable SSD, hard disk drive, pen drive, micro SD card, flash memory card, CCTV, monitor (not exceeding 22"), projector, printed circuit board, e-writing pad, USB cable, data cable, digital watch and loaded PCB. 

Syed Almas Kabir, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), thanked the government terming the proposal as a 'good move'. 

"Proposed tax holiday will help the sector grow further. In addition, the sectors will attract more foreign investment due to this tax facility," he said. 

The finance minister also proposed to extend the existing VAT exemption facility to manufacturing and assembling of mobile phones for two more years.