BTRC to provide license for manufacturing telecom service equipment

The country's telecommunication regulator has taken a move to bring local assembling and manufacturing of telecommunication service related equipment other than mobile handsets under its licensing authority.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already drafted a set of instructions on issuing registration certificates for local assembling and manufacturing firms and recently opened the draft for public opinions from stakeholders, experts, researchers, or any other interested parties by December 17.

The licensing process for local assembling and manufacturing of mobile phone handsets has already been enacted by the commission.

Now there are 14 mobile handset plants in the country that manufactures more than half of the local demand of handsets.

As per the draft instructions, the commission would issue two types of certificates -- 'A' and 'B' -- for assembling, manufacturing and setting up factory for making the products for local as well as international markets.

For category A, the applicant must have an adequate production capacity and its own testing lab with state-of-the-art facilities alongside a standardised layout for marketing and export.

Each lab will be required to have various testing facilities so that it is possible to produce world-class telecom-related wireless equipment in Bangladesh.

For category B, the applicant does not need to have a testing lab of its own but can instead contract outside testing lab for its products.

The products which are permitted for domestic manufacturing and assembling are industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) equipment.

This includes radio frequency-based devices, such as transmission antennas and Walkie-talkie sets, and also IoT devices like repeaters, boosters and Bluetooth devices.

The instructions have been formulated to create investment opportunities for the local entrepreneurs for assembling and manufacturing of telecom service-related equipment, the draft instructions said.

The manufacturing of telecom service-related equipment would help make these devices affordable and check illegal import and thus would prevent the government's revenue loss.

The scope for manufacturing and assembling of the equipment in the country would also attract foreign investments along with creating job opportunities, according to the objective of the draft instructions.

The commission in its draft instructions proposed Tk 1.5 million and Tk 1.0 million as enlistment fee for category 'A' and category 'B' entities respectively while the certificate renewal fee has been set at Tk 7,50,000 and Tk 5,00,000 for category 'A' and 'B' entities.

The annual fee has been set at Tk 2,50,00 for both categories and they would enjoy a five-year exemption from paying annual fee.

With a view to encouraging technological production, the government has been providing a huge tax break for the firms located in hi-tech parks.

The entities located in the country's hi-tech parks are waived from paying any income tax in the first seven years of their operations.

Such entities would enjoy 70 per cent tax waiver for three years after the seven-year tax holiday.