Many mobile phone shops, especially in Dhaka, were closed today in protest against the government’s move to block unauthorised handsets from 16 December using the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR).
NEIR is a system that records and verifies the unique IMEI numbers of mobile handsets. It blocks illegal, cloned, or unregistered devices, preventing them from accessing mobile networks once enforcement begins.
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Md Kabir, an owner of a shop at Bashundhara City in Dhaka, said he and his colleagues have kept their stores closed since morning.
We want the government to reduce the current tax rate and bring us under their rules and regulations, said Kabir, who has been selling mobile handsets for a decade.
The closure is part of a nationwide protest announced by the Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB), said its acting president, Shamim Mollah.
He said NEIR needs urgent reform.
“NEIR must be restructured. We also want to pay tax,” the acting president said.
“BTRC should also remove the barriers to importing phones legally.”
He said that small traders cannot meet requirements such as obtaining a mother company’s certificate to import devices like the iPhone. Import duties stand at 58 percent, while local assemblers enjoy significant tax breaks.
Asked whether this makes them illegal importers, he said they are not illegal, but they buy phones that come through “luggage baggage”.
However, authorised sellers and local manufacturers have not announced any closure.
MBCB claims a group of around 11 large businesses has formed a syndicate controlling imports and distribution, putting small and medium traders at risk.
However, authorised sellers and local manufacturers have not announced any closure.