The government has moved to strengthen enforcement of mobile phone registration as it prepares to launch the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) on 16 December.
Alongside the new system, authorities have announced major policy changes, including reduced import duties on legally imported smartphones and special provisions for expatriates bringing phones into the country.
These decisions were taken at a meeting held on Monday, chaired by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
Senior officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Ministry of Commerce, the Posts and Telecommunications Division, and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) were present.
According to the decisions, expatriates visiting Bangladesh will be allowed to use their smartphones for up to 60 days without registration. Registration will be mandatory only if they stay beyond that period.
Besides, expatriates with a Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) registration card may bring three phones duty-free, their personal device plus two new handsets. Any additional phones will require payment of tax.
Those without a BMET card may bring one extra duty-free phone besides their personal handset.
Travelers have been advised to carry valid purchase documents. Officials said this measure aims to curb pressure faced by migrant workers, who are often targeted by smugglers at airports in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Middle Eastern countries to transport gold or high-value phones illegally.
The government has also decided to significantly reduce the current 61 per cent duty on legally imported smartphones, a move expected to lower handset prices and discourage illegal imports.
Authorities stressed that duties and VAT on phones produced in Bangladesh’s 13 to 14 local manufacturing plants must also be revised to maintain competitiveness and safeguard foreign investment.
BTRC and NBR are working jointly with the Ministry of Commerce to harmonize taxes on imported and domestically produced devices.
The ministry urged users to ensure that SIM cards registered under their names are not being misused for criminal activity, including cybercrime, online fraud, mobile gambling or mobile banking offences.
Importers will be able to legalize illegally imported but International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) valid phones by submitting IMEI lists to BTRC before 16 December. These devices may be cleared with reduced duties after final agreement with NBR.
Cloned and refurbished phones will not be eligible for legalization.
Officials reassured the public that no active handset will be disconnected before NEIR is launched. After 16 December, consumers have been urged not to buy phones without valid IMEI numbers, as such devices will be barred from mobile networks.
Authorities also announced a crackdown on smuggled, cloned and refurbished phones, as well as on the dumping of old foreign devices disguised with new casings.
