KATHMANDU: Unregistered mobile phones imported from abroad will not be allowed to operate in Nepal from today. According to Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), such devices are being regulated from from today as the telecommunication regulatory body has already developed Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) for the purpose.
Besides, NTA has urged the general public who are using imported mobile sets to register the mobile phones currently in use in Nepal.
Purushottam Khanal, chairperson of the NTA, said that they have issued a final warning to the general peoples who are using illegal mobile sets to register for free and legalize their sets as per the government rules. “This is a final whistle for those who are using illegal mobile sets in Nepal. If those failed to do so, we will block to use the illegal sets to operate telecommunication services.”
According to the Khanal, mobile phone users can register the set by visiting their website (nta.gov.np). In the form available on the website, customers have to mention the IMEI number obtained by pressing * #06 # from the mobile you are using. In addition, there is a demand for a variety of personal details, including citizenship or passport numbers.
The illegal import of mobile sets is directly hampering business of dozens of companies who have been doing legal business in Nepal by importing mobiles phones through authorized dealership. “Even today, 40 percent of mobile sets available in the domestic market have come from gray market. This has not only affected businesses of genuine products but has also affected the government’s revenue as illegally imported mobile sets are not in the tax net of the government.”
Malhotra further said, it is inevitable that the government introduce the stricter provision to curb legal imports of mobile sets and implement it.
Importers have been doing type approval of phones imported to Nepal since 2010 BS. Registering a mobile phone will increase the revenue received by the country and the mobile phone will be safe, the authority said. In the budget statement issued by the government for the fiscal year 2021/22, it was mentioned that it is believed that the use of illegal mobile sets from MDMS will be brought under control and criminal activities using mobile phones will also be brought under control.