Illegal handsets face blocking under new NEIR plan
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has planned a two-phase reactivation of the National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR), targeting January 1, 2027, for the first phase to curb tax evasion involving illegal mobile handsets and tackle security risks and financial fraud linked to unregistered and cloned devices.
According to a document presented at a commission meeting, the proposed rollout aims to address an estimated Tk 2,000 crore in annual government revenue losses from illegal handset production, smuggling and unauthorised sales in the domestic market, as assessed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Under the first phase, BTRC plans to activate the system’s original features, except for the handset deregistration mechanism.
Mobile phones already operating on mobile network operators’ networks will be registered automatically, while IMEI data for unsold handsets held by authorised importers and local manufacturers will also be included.
The system will identify and block illegal, smuggled and tax-evading handsets brought into the country from abroad.
The second phase will introduce deregistration at an appropriate time to verify handset ownership, prevent the use of cloned devices and help curb financial fraud.
The BTRC director general of the SM Division presented a detailed working paper on reactivating the system at the commission meeting. The document said key features of NEIR had remained disabled since its experimental launch on July 1, 2021.
“Following the experimental launch on July 1, 2021, the system was kept operational without the automatic blocking of illegally imported phones and without features to stop clone handsets, as per the decision of the then-government,” the document stated.
It added that the absence of these features had undermined the system’s primary objectives.
The SM Division of BTRC will implement the reactivation plan. The commission will send a formal letter to the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD) seeking prior government approval for the phased rollout.
The latest move follows several calls from revenue, telecommunications and security authorities to fully activate NEIR.
On October 29, 2024, the NBR formally requested BTRC to activate the system to curb tax evasion. The PTD gave initial approval to the reactivation plan on June 28, 2025.
At a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on December 1, 2025, officials directed the full reactivation of NEIR across national mobile networks. Although the system was prepared for a full rollout on January 1, 2026, its key blocking features were withheld to avoid public inconvenience.
Security agencies raised further concerns in a letter issued on June 9, 2026, highlighting economic and national security risks and stressing the need for full deployment.
An inter-ministerial meeting on July 2, 2026, examined vulnerabilities involving IMEI numbers, SIM registration and fraud linked to mobile financial services (MFS), recommending full deployment of the system.
A further high-level meeting chaired by the Home Minister on September 22, 2026, with representatives from the PTD, Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies, formally recommended the two-phase rollout by January 1, 2027.
According to the meeting decision, unregistered, stolen and cloned handsets can be used in organised crime, handset theft and fraudulent MFS transactions. Security agencies consider full deployment necessary to improve accountability for devices operating on mobile networks.
Separately, BTRC has approved a phased roadmap to discontinue 2G-only mobile handsets by December 2029. The plan includes restrictions on the approval, manufacture, import and marketing of such devices.
