Guyana approves removal of cell phone tax, boosting connectivity

The government of Guyana on Thursday accomplished tabling legislation which removes the 20 percent tax on cell phones.

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, stated that the Confirmation of the Customs (Amendment of First Schedule) Order of 2023 aligns with a commitment given by President Irfaan Ali last June.

He emphasized the widespread effect the law would bring about.

“With the confirmation of this order, every cellular phone that comes into Guyana will no longer attract a 20 percent duty that previously it would have attracted, and that immediately will redound to the benefit of the consuming public,” Singh told legislators.

Increasing mobile phone accessibility through tax removal

Singh went on to point out that this action will likely result in mobile phones becoming increasingly accessible due to lowered costs.

According to Singh, the cancellation of the 20 percent customs duty on mobile phones is just one part of a broader set of initiatives the government has implemented.

Measures to enhance telecommunications

These measures aim at enhancing connectivity and access to affordable telecommunication services.

“It would sir, be recalled that one of the first actions taken by His Excellency, the President, when he assumed the presidency in August 2020, was to bring into operations the new Telecommunications Act, and that Act, of course, paved the way for the introduction competition in the Telecommunications Sector, and promoted increased private investment in telecommunications infrastructure.

“The result, sir, has been the billed out of telecommunications infrastructure, including the landing of new international or transnational fibre optic cables,” Singh added.

The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector has also resulted in the entrance of new companies into the sector, resulting in the expansion of connectivity services in Linden, Essequibo and Berbice.

In 2021, the government had also erased the Value Added Tax (VAT) on individual and residential data. Meanwhile, in 2020, VAT was lifted from the purchase of mobile phones.