TBT DESK: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has taken a two-phase plan to reactivate the National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR), targeting January 1, 2027, for the first phase to curb tax evasion involving illegal mobile handsets and address security risks and financial fraud linked to unregistered and cloned devices.

The proposed rollout is aimed at tackling estimated annual government revenue losses of Tk 2,000 crore, assessed by NBR, from tax evasion involving illegal handset production, smuggling and unauthorised sales in the domestic market, according to the document of the commission meeting.

Under the first phase, BTRC plans to activate the system's original features, except for the de-registration mechanism, automatically register handsets already operating on mobile network operators' networks, and include the IMEI data of unsold handsets held by authorised importers and local manufacturers.

The system will also identify and block illegal, smuggled and tax-evading handsets brought from abroad.

The second phase will introduce de-registration at an appropriate time to verify handset ownership, curb cloned devices and prevent financial fraud.

The BTRC Director General (SM) presented a detailed working paper on reactivating NEIR at the commission meeting, noting that key features 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.

As a result, the primary objectives of establishing NEIR are being directly hindered," said the document.

The SM Division of BTRC will implement the reactivation plan. A formal letter will be sent to the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD) to obtain prior government approval for the phased rollout.

The move follows repeated calls from revenue, telecommunications and security authorities for full deployment of the system.

On October 29, 2024, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) formally requested BTRC to activate NEIR to curb tax evasion. The PTD granted initial approval to the reactivation plan on June 28, 2025.

On December 1, 2025, in a high-level inter-ministerial meeting, it was directed the full reactivation of NEIR across national networks.

Although the system was prepared for full rollout on January 1, 2026, its key blocking features were withheld to avoid public inconvenience.

The security agencies, in a formal letter issued on June 9, 2026, highlighted economic and national security risks and stressed the need for full deployment.

On July 2, 2026, an inter-ministerial meeting was held on vulnerabilities in IMEI, SIM registration and fraud involving mobile financial services (MFS). The meeting recommended full deployment of NEIR.

With the Home Minister chairing, a further high-level meeting on September 22, 2026, was held and attended by representatives from PTD, Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies. The meeting formally recommended a two-phase rollout by January 1, 2027.

According to the decision, unregistered, stolen and cloned handsets are used in organised crime, handset theft and fraudulent MFS transactions. The security agencies consider full deployment is necessary to establish accountability for devices operating on mobile networks.

Meanwhile, BTRC has also approved a phased roadmap to discontinue 2G-only mobile handsets by December 2029, with restrictions on the approval, manufacture, import and marketing of such devices.