By Our Reporter
Airtel Uganda has announced that it will maintain its pre-paid data prices despite the new 12% Excise Duty on internet, which is taking effect starting July 1st, 2021.
The introduction of the new tax and abolition of Over The Top (OTT) follows the passing of the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill 2021 by the Parliament of Uganda on April 29th, 2021.
“Starting today, our subscribers will not be required to pay OTT in order to access social media websites and Apps. We shall institutionalize the 12% excise tax as mandated by the Government of Uganda, however, Airtel Uganda will absorb the excise duty for all pre-paid packs, thus maintaining our pre-paid data prices till further notice,” said Amit Kapur, the Chief Commercial Officer Airtel Uganda.
“This will allow Airtel Uganda customers to enjoy and connect with the world seamlessly using our affordable and reliable 4G Smartphone network with no limitation.” He added.
With the popularity of digital lifestyle devices such as Smartphones, and an exponential growth of mobile Apps and multimedia, internet data access has gone up spurring demand for affordable and reliable data.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic re-emphasizes the need as customers are using the internet to deliver on their daily tasks to include learning, work and entertainment.