In a move aimed at keeping mobile phone prices within consumers’ purchasing capacity, the government has reduced customs duty on mobile phone imports by 60 percent. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has lowered the duty from 25 percent to 10 percent through a notification issued on Tuesday.

According to the notification (SRO No. 15–Ain/2026/Customs), the revised duty structure is expected to significantly reduce the retail price of imported mobile phones. At the same time, to protect local mobile phone assembling industries from adverse competition, the NBR has issued a separate notification reducing customs duty on the import of components used by mobile phone assemblers.

Under the second notification (SRO No. 16–Ain/2026/Customs), customs duty on mobile phone components has been cut from 10 percent to 5 percent, marking a 50 percent reduction.

As a result of the revised duty rates, the price of each imported fully built mobile phone priced above Tk 30,000 is expected to fall by approximately Tk 5,500. Meanwhile, prices of locally assembled mobile phones in the same price bracket are likely to decrease by around Tk 1,500.

The NBR said the dual policy decision aims to strike a balance between making mobile phones affordable for consumers and safeguarding the domestic mobile phone assembling industry. Officials believe the move will help stabilize the market and ensure fair competition between imported and locally assembled devices.

The government expects that the significant reduction in duties on mobile phone imports and components will keep prices of all categories of mobile phones within the reach of the general public. It will also facilitate easier access to digital services for citizens and support the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.

The NBR reiterated that the government’s efforts to keep technology products affordable for consumers would continue in the future.