The current government is trying to create a 'cashless society'. As a part of this, initiatives are being taken to popularize cashless transactions in the budget of the new financial year. According to the budget, 19 ICT businesses will be tax-free for 3 years under the condition of being cashless. Without completely withdrawing the income tax exemption for the information technology (ICT) sector, it has been stipulated in this case that if the conditions are met, most of the businesses will get the benefit of tax holiday for the next three years. On Thursday (June 6), Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali presented the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. In it, he proposed to keep 19 businesses in the IT sector tax-free for the next three years under the condition of being cashless.
These 19 businesses are AI based solution development; Blockchain Based Solution Development; Robotics Process Outsourcing; Software as a Service; Cyber ​​Security Services; Digital Data Analytics & Data Science; mobile application development services; software development and customization; Software Test Lab Services; Web Listing, Website Development & Services; IT support and software maintenance services; Geographic Information Services; Digital Animation Development; digital graphics design; digital data entry and processing; e-learning platforms and e-publications; IT Freelancing; call center services; Document conversion, imaging and digital archiving.
Businesses that will not benefit from tax exemption in future include Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN), IT process outsourcing, website hosting, search engine optimization services, cloud services and system integration.
It should be noted that since 2011, the government has been providing tax exemptions to the information technology sector as an emerging and promising sector. The facility was supposed to expire in the financial year 2020-21. However, the government later extended the facility till June 2024.
However, earlier, 27 businesses in the ICT sector had the benefit of tax exemption. Many of the 19 businesses that will receive tax exemptions in the future were on this list.
