Banglalink Faces Legal Heat Over Tk42.58cr Unpaid VAT

The BTRC’s draft Telecommunication Network & Licensing Regime Reform Policy 2025 aims to streamline Bangladesh’s telecom licensing by consolidating over 20 licence types into three main categories: National Infrastructure & Connectivity Service Provider (NICSP), International Connectivity Service Provider (ICSP), and Access Network Service Provider (ANSP).

Bangladesh’s interim government expects mobile network operators (MNOs) to soon reduce mobile internet prices following significant wholesale price cuts across the internet value chain. According to Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the chief adviser's special assistant, the government has already lowered costs at the International Terrestrial Cable, International Internet Gateway, and National Telecommunication Transmission Network levels.

The government of Bangladesh has unveiled an ambitious plan to modernize its telecom sector, aiming to eliminate internet shutdowns, lower internet costs, and improve service quality through comprehensive reforms and deregulation. Key measures include abolishing restrictive licensing, enforcing performance-based regulations, and making all metropolitan telecom fibre networks underground within three years.

Internet subscribers in Bangladesh will now receive 10 Mbps internet speed for Tk 500, up from the previous 5 Mbps, as announced by the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB). This change aligns with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) "One Country, One Rate" policy.

Banglalink has failed to pay Tk42.58 crore in VAT to BTRC for revenue sharing from April 2012 to June 2013. Although Banglalink claims the VAT constitutes double taxation, citing NBR’s special order issued on August 12, 2013, both BTRC and the court have ruled that the VAT was applicable before that order and must be paid.

Bangladesh’s mobile subscriber base dropped by 77 lakh from July 2024 to January 2025, with mobile internet users declining by 1.1 crore, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.