BSIA hails govt support for semiconductor industry

Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association (BSIA) President M A Jabbar has expressed its heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the Prime Minister's Adviser for Science, Technology and ICT Affairs, and the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for paying special attention to Bangladesh's emerging semiconductor and deep-tech sector in the national budget and related policy measures.

The fiscal and policy support introduced for the semiconductor sector is a timely, visionary and highly encouraging step. Through these measures, the government has formally recognised semiconductor and deep-tech activities across customs, tariff and VAT frameworks, including IC Design, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSAT), Packaging and Fabrication, says a press release.

This recognition is extremely important for the industry. It not only provides financial relief but also creates a formal policy foundation for the growth of Bangladesh's semiconductor ecosystem. The exemption of customs duty beyond the concessional rate, along with exemption from regulatory duty, supplementary duty, VAT and advance tax on eligible inputs, will significantly reduce the cost of doing business for local semiconductor companies.

These incentives will help Bangladeshi companies import essential tools, equipment, software, raw materials, testing resources and other industry inputs at more competitive costs. As a result, the industry will be better positioned to strengthen IC design capability, expand EDA-based design activities, develop prototyping and testing capacity, support OSAT and packaging services, and gradually move towards a more complete semiconductor value chain in Bangladesh.