Bangladesh targets January 2027 NEIR relaunch as phone prices complicate crackdown

A Tk20 billion revenue target meets a costly phone market

Bangladesh plans to reactivate its mobile phone identification system from January 1, 2027, targeting illegal handset imports and sales that the National Board of Revenue estimates cost the government Tk2,000 crore, or Tk20 billion, a year. Phones already operating on mobile networks would be registered automatically, while stronger controls over ownership transfers and cloned devices would come later.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has approved a plan with two phases for the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR). Its Spectrum Management division would implement the plan, with government approval to be sought through the Posts and Telecommunications Division.

The proposed relaunch is the third attempt to make the system fully operational since trials began on July 1, 2021. Previous efforts ran into protests from traders, confusion over registration records and concern that blocking cheaper unofficial phones would leave consumers facing higher prices.

Affordability is again central to the government's deliberations. Traders say a smartphone that cost Tk13,000 at the beginning of 2026 was selling for about Tk18,000 by September. That is an increase of Tk5,000, or roughly 38 percent, during the period when authorities were preparing tighter controls.

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam has said the effect on buyers must be considered before illegal phones are blocked. The government wants cheaper legal handsets available and is discussing that goal with manufacturers, alongside consultations involving businesses, the home ministry and revenue authorities.

What the register would check

NEIR is a central database that allows mobile networks to check a phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity, or IMEI. This is a number of 15 digits that identifies the equipment connecting to a network. A SIM identifies a mobile subscription; the IMEI identifies the device using it.

BTRC wants the database to help identify phones produced or imported illegally, smuggled into Bangladesh or sold after duties and taxes have been evaded. Network blocking would stop affected devices from using mobile services on the country's networks.

A cloned handset uses an IMEI copied from another device, making identification more difficult because different phones can appear under the same number. The planned first phase will not be able to block cloned handsets, according to the commission's meeting minutes.

Security agencies have linked unregistered, stolen and cloned phones to organised crime, handset theft and fraud involving mobile financial services. Their stated goal is to make it possible to identify devices operating on national networks and connect them with accountable users.

Existing phones and unsold stock get a transition

Handsets already active on mobile operators' networks would be registered automatically under the first phase. Authorised importers and local manufacturers would also be able to submit IMEI information for phones that have been imported or produced but remain unsold.

These arrangements would give existing users continuity and allow legitimate businesses to enter warehouse stock into the database before it reaches buyers. The enforcement focus would be on illegal devices entering the market after the relaunch.

BTRC chairman Emdad-Ul-Bari has said the blocking mechanism would apply to phones brought into Bangladesh after the system launches. He also said the status of devices already in use could be corrected gradually without disrupting consumers' existing phones.

The second phase would introduce de-registration, a process for changing the ownership recorded against a handset so that the system reflects its genuine or latest owner. This matters when a phone is sold or passed to someone else. No date has been set for that phase, which requires further government approval; detailed ownership transfer procedures and the final consumer transition terms are also still to be settled.

BTRC expects at least two months of publicity before the relaunch. Its September 28 decision left roughly three months before the January 1 target, giving authorities a limited period to explain registration, stock declarations and the treatment of existing devices.

Why the database numbers need careful explanation

BTRC said NEIR contained about 770.6 million IMEI numbers as of June 2026. Of those, 411.8 million were on its grey list, a category for unauthorised entries. That amounts to about 53.4 percent of the IMEI numbers stored.

A single handset may have more than one IMEI, while several phones may use the same cloned number. The database figures therefore describe identification records rather than a count of physical phones. This helps explain why the scale of the register can look much larger than the number of devices people expect to be in use.

Registration confusion had already become a public concern during the January 2026 launch. Some subscribers saw unusually large numbers of phones associated with their national identity cards and worried about privacy, security and misuse of personal information.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, then special assistant to the chief adviser for posts, telecommunications and information technology, said mobile operators had uploaded more than three billion handset data records, including historical information. He said BTRC and the operators were working to archive older records and display only phones currently in use.

The three billion historical data records and the 770.6 million IMEI entries describe different parts of the registration process. For consumers, the practical issue is whether the system accurately displays the devices linked to their identity when enforcement begins.

How Bangladesh reached another launch date

Revenue, telecommunications and security authorities have repeatedly pressed for fuller enforcement. The commission's working paper says automatic blocking of illegally imported phones and controls against cloned handsets were left inactive after the 2021 trial under a decision by the government at the time.

The main steps stretch across more than five years:

• July 1, 2021: NEIR began operating experimentally, without its main automatic blocking and cloning controls.
• October 29, 2024: The National Board of Revenue asked BTRC to act against handset tax evasion, citing annual losses of Tk2,000 crore.
• June 28, 2025: The Posts and Telecommunications Division gave initial approval to a reactivation plan.
• December 1, 2025: An interministerial meeting directed a full launch across national networks.
• December 2025: Traders protested a rollout that had initially been scheduled for December 16. The later launch target was January 1, 2026.
• January 1, 2026: The system launched without automatic blocking of illegal handsets, amid concern about disruption before the parliamentary election.
• June 9 and July 2, 2026: A security agency letter and a home ministry meeting renewed calls for full deployment.
• September 22, 2026: A meeting chaired by the home minister recommended a rollout in two phases from January 2027.
• January 1, 2027: The proposed first phase would begin, subject to the government approval process.

The September meeting brought together representatives of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies. Their involvement reflects the plan's combined focus on tax collection, device identification and financial fraud.

Protests exposed the cost of a difficult transition

Mobile phone traders began demonstrations in December 2025, demanding lower import taxes and a delay of six months to a year. On December 7, traders suspended a blockade outside BTRC until the following day after the regulator agreed to discuss reforms, while saying shops would remain closed pending a final decision.

The blockade in Dhaka's Agargaon disrupted roads and made access to nearby hospitals difficult. Patients faced delays reaching facilities including Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute and the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.

Emdad-Ul-Bari agreed that a joint commission meeting would address complications with NEIR. Mobile Business Community secretary Abu Sayeed Pias expressed hope that discussions would resolve the dispute and restore market stability.

Opposition continued after the January 1, 2026 launch. Forty-five mobile traders were arrested following an attack on BTRC's office, and shops closed across the country on January 2. The Mobile Business Community Bangladesh demanded withdrawal of cases, release of detainees and talks among stakeholders.

Taiyeb assured users at that time that illegal or cloned handsets would not be disconnected for three months. The assurance, together with efforts to clean up historical records, showed how the rollout had become a problem of public communication and data management as well as enforcement.

Why legal phones remain expensive

Bangladesh has developed a handset assembly and manufacturing industry over the past decade, largely serving lower and middle price ranges. Many premium models still depend on imports because specialised components, complex supply arrangements and limited local demand make domestic production difficult.

Import taxes and duties on legally imported smartphones have been put at about 61.8 percent. Traders have sought reductions, arguing that the resulting price gap encourages buyers to choose unofficial devices.

The government decided earlier in 2026 to reduce duties on legal handset imports, hoping to narrow that gap. Businesses say the expected relief has been overtaken by rising costs. Some brands had already increased prices by Tk500 to Tk5,000 before the duty reduction.

Saifuddin Tipu, executive director of Excel Telecom, which is associated with Samsung, attributed higher production costs to problems with global memory chip supply and prices. He said manufacturers depend on a small number of chip producers to meet their requirements.

Manufacturers have warned that the cheapest smartphones could cost as much as Tk25,000 by the end of 2026. That is a forecast, while the rise from Tk13,000 to about Tk18,000 by September is the price movement traders describe as having already happened.

For a household replacing a broken phone, the difference is immediate: a device previously within its budget may now require another Tk5,000. Blocking access to cheaper unofficial imports would make the availability and price of legal replacements a central part of the transition.

Businesses want legal routes at affordable prices

Manufacturers and informal retailers both want changes to the market, although their priorities differ. Legal handset producers claim at least 75 percent of unofficial phones sold in Bangladesh are refurbished or used. They argue that buyers attracted by lower prices may receive devices with shorter useful lives.

Mobile Business Community Bangladesh vice-president Shamim Mollah has called for lower taxes, trader involvement in policymaking and permission to import used phones after paying the required duties. He described the traders' request for access to a legal import route:

Give us a chance to provide input as well. Reduce the tax, give us the opportunity to import,

Ziauddin Chowdhury, country general manager of Xiaomi Technologies Bangladesh, supports a more orderly handset market but has called for a balanced duty structure. He warned that high taxes and rising global smartphone prices could put devices beyond ordinary consumers' reach.

Chowdhury also linked stable policy to investment and fair access for businesses:

Frequent policy changes also discourage foreign investors. It is essential that this initiative be consumer-friendly and business-friendly. We envision a smartphone market where consumers can access products at fair prices, the government collects its due revenue, and all businesses have the opportunity to operate through legitimate channels,

B M Mainul Hossain, a professor at Dhaka University's Institute of Information Technology, has suggested reducing import duties on components such as cameras, display panels and batteries. His proposal targets the cost of phones assembled locally, rather than relying solely on restrictions at the point of sale.

Another deadline covers phones limited to 2G

BTRC has also approved a phased roadmap to discontinue handsets that support only second generation mobile networks by December 2029. The plan would restrict their approval, manufacture, import and marketing.

The roadmap concerns the network technology a handset supports. NEIR concerns its recorded identity and legal status. A phone can therefore face different requirements under the two policies, with registration enforcement planned for January 2027 and the transition away from devices limited to 2G extending to December 2029.

For the immediate relaunch, the government's task is to combine accurate records, affordable legal supply and workable rules for traders. Automatic registration of existing phones and the later introduction of ownership transfer controls are intended to spread that transition over time, while the proposed blocking of new illegal devices would tighten entry into the market.

Key Points

• BTRC plans to begin the first phase of the NEIR relaunch on January 1, 2027, with government approval being sought.
• The National Board of Revenue estimates annual handset tax evasion losses at Tk2,000 crore, or Tk20 billion.
• Phones already active on mobile networks would be registered automatically, and authorised businesses could submit unsold stock details.
• The first phase would target new illegal handsets but would leave ownership transfer and cloned handset blocking controls for later.
• Rising phone prices, high import duties and earlier trader protests remain central to government consultations.
• A separate BTRC roadmap aims to discontinue phones supporting only 2G by December 2029.