Trade bodies for digital services today demanded an exemption from value added tax (VAT) which has been proposed on digital services for the next five years.

Lamenting on the 7.5 percent value added tax (VAT) imposed on virtual businesses, they said the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019-20 did not meet expectations for digital services.

However, the overall budget was satisfactory, the trade bodies said.

Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Computer Shamiti, Internet Service Provider Association Bangladesh and Bangladesh Association of Call Centre & Outsourcing (BACCO) today organised a press conference at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon to share their reaction on the proposed budget.

The implementation of 15 percent supplementary duty on smartphone import will also have a huge impact on the industry, the experts said.

They, however, welcomed the Tk 100 crore allocation for start-ups.

The presidents of all the organisations were present during the press conference.