The National Board of Revenue has slashed customs duty on mobile phone imports to keep handset prices within consumers’ purchasing capacity.

In a gazette notification issued on Tuesday, the NBR lowered the customs duty on imported mobile phones to 10 per cent from 25 per cent, cutting the existing import duty structure by 60 per cent.

To prevent local mobile phone assembling companies from facing unfair competition due to the reduced duty on finished handset imports, the revenue authority also issued a separate notification reducing customs duty on components imported by local assemblers.

Under the new order, customs duty on such components has been cut to 5 per cent from 10 per cent, marking a 50 per cent reduction in the existing duty.

According to the NBR, the two measures are expected to lower the price of each fully assembled imported mobile phone priced above Tk 30,000 by around Tk 5,500.

The price of each locally assembled mobile phone priced above Tk 30,000 might also fall by approximately Tk 1,500, NBR said.

The NBR also stated that the significant reduction in duties on mobile phone imports and components for the local assembly industry would help keep the prices of all types of mobile phones within reach of general consumers and facilitate easier access to digital services.

The government’s efforts to ensure affordable mobile phone prices for the public would continue, the NBR added.