The government will block cloned, illegally imported, and smuggled mobile phones.
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday, saying, “No concessions will be given here.”
The special assistant said illegal phones are linked to the following crimes – incorrect SIM registration/eKYC and SIM-related crimes; sending bulk SMS for gambling links and MLM fraud; incorrect MFS registration/eKYC and mobile financing-related crimes.
He also linked such phones to online gambling and scamming; crimes related to illegal cloned phones; non-payment of various patent and technical royalties; income tax and customs duty evasion; illegal import of unboxed mobile phones from India and China; airport luggage parties; border smuggling; and hindering the development of the local handset manufacturing industry.
Taiyeb elaborated that illegal phones pose multi-layered security and protection risks for citizens, society, the economy, and the state.
He cited continuous requests from the country’s law enforcement agencies, BIDA, mobile banking companies, the banking sector, the BFIU, and the NBR to act on this.
Furthermore, the issue is critical for ensuring discipline and security in the mobile banking, internet, and telecommunications sectors.
Taiyeb further stated that no one would be allowed to dump nearly a million phones in the country a year by evading taxes.
“We are making it clear; we are not out to ruin the businesses of any mobile traders or shopkeepers. They will sell phones from local manufacturers and legally imported ones, and do business with integrity,” he commented.
Taiyeb added that currently millions of phones are being manufactured and brought into the country against a single International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) code.
He claimed this will no longer be possible once the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) is fully activated, which is why a “mafia circle” is actively trying to stop the NEIR system.
Taiyeb asserted that the days of luggage parties, false HS codes, border smuggling, and imports at kilogram rates are over, and all associated digital crimes used to spread them will be reined in. “There will be no concessions here,” he reiterated.
He also mentioned that discussions have already been held with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) about reducing import duties, and a letter has been sent to the NBR.
A meeting with the NBR chairman on this issue will be held soon. Concurrently, the BTRC has been requested to urge local manufacturers to reduce prices.
Taiyeb commented that everything necessary would be done to reduce the price of legal mobile phones, considering the consumers’ perspective.
Simultaneously, the BTRC is working to simplify the registration process for phones brought from abroad through legal channels. It has already been announced that all active phones will be registered as legal before 16 December.
He emphasised that foreign phones do not enter countries like India or others on such a massive scale illegally. “As a regulator, the BTRC is not obliged to accept that the prices of high-end phones must be reduced by importing them illegally or through smuggled phones,” he stated.
He assured that individuals using a phone that has not been cloned with a SIM registered in their own name will never face any trouble, which is why people are always advised to register SIMs in their own names.
Expatriates can bring one or two phones from abroad for free, following the regulations, and register them accordingly. “There will be no issues,” he said. For more than two phones, the NBR has separate regulations.
The special assistant also commented that reasonable recommendations received on how to simplify the registration, de-registration, and re-registration processes for the public, are being taken into serious consideration.
