The National Board of Revenue has sought help from telecommunication regulator in preventing the use of mobile phone handsets which entered the country through unauthorised channels without paying tax.
In a letter recently, the NBR customs wing made the request to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
It said the handsets which got to the market dodging tax could be identified using equipment identity registers.
According to market sources, a large number of handsets of popular brands in Bangladesh are coming to the market through different illegal channels.
They say the handsets are often brought by the “luggage party.”
The luggage party are the international travellers who use their luggage to bring handsets from abroad under the cover of other general items to dodge tax.
The brands mostly include Apple, Samsung, HTC and Blackberry. These handsets do not have any warranty and are sold much cheaper than regular prices, market sources say.
According to them, the most of handsets are also used, refurbished and low configured.
Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association has long been urging the NBR to stop illegal import of handsets as the importers using legal channels and paying tax are losing competition.
Officials say handsets can be identified using the EIR, a system that can check the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number and detect fake, clone and illegal handsets.
Every phone or mobile broadband device has a unique 15 digit code, which can be used to block a mobile phone from being used by another person or phone company if it has been lost or stolen.
The government is currently working on to start the registration of IMEI numbers, a unique number assigned to each mobile phone, and build a central database to catch criminals who use illegally imported phones.
