Illegal Smartphones to be blocked after Dec 16
Muhammad Ayub Ali :
The Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology will roll out the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) on 16 December to curb the sale and use of illegal smartphones in Bangladesh.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), buyers must verify any handset’s validity before purchase, regardless of the platform, and keep receipts, as legitimate phones will be automatically registered in the NEIR system.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Buyers must verify a handset’s validity before purchase, and keep receipts, as legitimate phones will be automatically registered in the NEIR system.
However, BTRC confirmed that phones activated before 16 December will not be blocked under the new system and urged the public to ignore related misinformation.
Meanwhile, stock handsets illegally imported before 16 December with valid IMEI numbers are being registered with the BTRC, with plans to legalise them at reduced duty rates, pending approval from the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Clone and refurbished devices, however, will not qualify for this facility.
The ministry has repeatedly warned consumers not to buy handsets without valid IMEI numbers, stressing that banning illegal, smuggled, and cloned phones is vital to prevent Bangladesh from becoming a dumping ground for used foreign devices.
In protest of the NEIR system, the Bangladesh Mobile Business Community has announced an indefinite closure of all mobile shops nationwide starting 7 December.
“From Sunday morning, traders across the country will close their shops and gather at the BTRC office in Agargaon,” said Abu Sayeed Pias, secretary of the community.
Expatriates visiting Bangladesh can use smartphones without registration for up to 60 days, after which registration will be mandatory.
Following a 1 December meeting involving the NBR, Commerce Ministry, Posts and Telecom Division, and BTRC, several measures were adopted to ease legal imports.
Expatriates with BMET cards may bring up to three phones tax-free, with tax applicable on the fourth, while those without BMET cards can bring one extra phone tax-free if they carry proof of purchase.
To combat the trade of refurbished phones disguised as new imports, customs authorities will intensify inspections at airports and land ports, targeting flights from India, Thailand, and China.
Separately, the government has decided to cut import duties on legally imported smartphones, currently around 61percent, to make prices more affordable and promote legal sales.
Officials also emphasized safeguarding domestic mobile manufacturing, with proportional adjustments to duty and VAT for devices produced in the country’s 13–14 local factories.