Staff Reporter :
The government has decided to sharply reduce import duties on legally imported smartphones in an effort to bring down handset prices and curb the widespread influx of undocumented devices.
At present, smartphones imported through formal channels face a cumulative tax burden of about 61 percent. Officials at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology confirmed that the process to bring this rate down has already begun.
However, the ministry noted that any reduction must be aligned with duties and VAT applied to locally assembled and manufactured smartphones.
Bangladesh now has 13–14 active mobile device factories, and imbalanced taxation could discourage existing and prospective foreign investment in the sector.
The decision followed a high-level meeting on 1 December 2025 at the Secretariat, chaired by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser.
Representatives from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) attended, and several key directives were finalised.
Officials reiterated that active mobile phones currently in use will not be shut down before 16 December, urging citizens to disregard circulating rumours.
For illegally imported stock devices that possess valid IMEI numbers, the government is preparing a one-time opportunity to legalise these phones by submitting IMEI lists to the BTRC before 16 December.
The reduced-duty facility will apply only to such devices, excluding cloned or refurbished phones.
Expatriates will also see eased regulations. Those with a Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) registration card may bring three phones duty-free two new devices in addition to their personal handset.
A fourth phone will incur taxes. Expatriates without a BMET card may bring one additional phone duty-free along with their personal device.
To prevent abuse, travellers must carry authentic purchase receipts, as criminal groups in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and several Middle Eastern countries have reportedly exploited travellers to transport undeclared phones or gold.
Moreover, expatriates visiting Bangladesh may use their smartphones without registration for up to 60 days. Those staying longer will be required to complete formal registration.
The ministry said coordinated efforts among the BTRC, NBR and the Ministry of Commerce to rationalise tax structures for both imported and locally produced devices will strengthen the domestic device manufacturing ecosystem.
On 29 October, BTRC Chairman Major General (retd) Md Emdadul Bari announced that all unregistered phones will be automatically deactivated from 16 December under the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR), which detects and blocks unauthorised devices.
Phones currently in use will be auto-registered through biometric SIM data, while users of gifted or second-hand phones must register through designated BTRC procedures.
