Nepal
Telecommunications Authority, the telecommunication regulator, said since 9 am
on Monday, they have deactivated mobile SIM cards of 804 iPhones.
MDMS,
a system that tackles the illegal import of mobile phones, was fully
implemented on Sunday, after several years of planning.
“In
the first phase, we have deactivated mobile SIMs of the most expensive phones,”
said Achyuta Nand Mishra, deputy director of the Nepal Telecommunications
Authority.
“The
mobile sets not registered in MDMS will be eventually blocked.”
The
regulator issued a notice on October 21 asking users in
“We
had sent text messages to the owners of the unregistered phones before taking
the action,” Mishra said.
The
users will not be able to make voice calls and send text messages through the
mobile sets using Nepali SIMs, Mishra said.
Mobile
users who have received the SMS on their phones asking to register their
handsets in MDMS need to do so by visiting the official website of the Nepal
Telecommunications Authority.
According
to the telecom authority, all foreigners entering
The
mobile phone sets brought from foreign countries for personal use for temporary
stay and have completed customs clearance are being registered in MDMS
automatically.
If
the phones brought from foreign countries are not customs-cleared, users can
register the devices with MDMS by submitting a passport or citizenship
document.
The
authority said that other options for customs clearance include providing
documents such as arrival or departure stamps on the passports or boarding
passes.
According
to the authority, 60 million phone sets have been registered with the MDMS,
which includes registration of the International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI) number, a unique 15-digit code that precisely identifies the device with
the SIM card input.
The
authority said around 10.20 million mobile sets are in the process of being
registered with their IMEI numbers.
If
the phone sets are imported through the official channel, the importing company
or dealer would register the IMEI number.
The authority had originally planned to roll out the system in mid-July 2021,
but it was put off due to the protracted Covid lockdowns as the shipments of
equipment required to set up a data centre were delayed, the authority said.
The
new date to implement the system had been fixed for December 30 last year after
a soft launch in August of the same year.
However,
the launch was postponed further on the orders of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal.
The
prime minister's move followed public criticism as the new policy barred a
Nepali citizen from bringing home more than two mobile sets from abroad.
On
May 9, the Cabinet meeting decided to implement MDMS, after a brief halt, to
tackle the grey market of mobile phones.
The
government then amended the Baggage
Rules, 2016 allowing migrant workers to bring in one new mobile
set, in addition to their phone.
The migrant workers have to present a legal work permit for at least six months
to be eligible to bring in the new mobile phone set. Migrant workers are exempt
from paying 18 percent of the tax on mobile phone sets.
The
government has been imposing an 18 percent tax on smartphones and a 15.5
percent tax on bar phones.
According to the Department of Customs,
In the fiscal year 2021-22,
According
to the Department of Customs, the import of mobile phones amounted to Rs40.89
billion in 2021-22.
The
mobile importers and distributors said that the MDMS would control the grey
market of mobile phones, which they have estimated to be around 50 percent.
According
to the authority, MDMS is a security software that enables the regulator to
implement policies that secure, monitor and manage end-user mobile devices.
It
will eliminate mobile imports from the grey market and phones sold without a
bill and warranty. The authority said the system tracks only the device
information and not other matters.
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