LAGOS: The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has expressed concern over the telecom sector which faces the threat of eventual stagnation as operational costs keep rising and revenues dwindling. It has however initiated talks with the government over the 20 per cent import tax imposed on Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards used by telecommunication companies in the country. GCT argued that the tax on the cards is an error and requires correction to save the telecoms the extra expenditure. Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber said, “No mobile operator allows or facilitates copying of copyright material on to SIM cards so the idea of the law is completely irrelevant.” Parts of the 2010 Copyright Law stated that companies are required to pay 20 per cent import tax on all devices with the capacity to hold downloaded copyright works such as books; audio music; videos; photographs and other audio/video materials. The law however, included SIM cards. Sakyi-Addo reiterated that SIM cards did not even have the capacity to hold large quantities of the contacts of a subscriber. He expresses surprise that it is classified as a storage device just as the others in its classification adding that “SIM cards cannot be used to store music, video or books as in the case of the others.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/HX0KJ Tags: Ghana, Import tax, SIM card row Section: Tech, West Africa
