The government will block all cloned, illegally imported and smuggled mobile phones, Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, special assistant to the Chief Adviser in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said on Wednesday.

There will be “no exceptions” in removing such phones from the market, he said in a press release.

He also said that illegal phones are linked to many crimes, including wrong SIM registration and eKYC fraud, bulk SMS scams, mobile financial fraud, online gambling, scamming, patent and royalty violations, tax and customs evasion, and cross-border smuggling from China and India.

These activities also harm the local handset industry, he added.

The official also informed that various agencies - law enforcement bodies, BIDA, mobile banking operators, the banking sector, BFIU, and NBR - have urged the ministry to take strict action to protect public safety, the economy and national security.

Taiyeb said that some groups had imported “millions of phones” without paying taxes and dumped them in the country over the last year.

“We are not harming any legal mobile trader. They should sell locally made phones or legally imported phones,” he added.

He further added that many cloned devices are being produced using the same IMEI number and after the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) is activated, this will no longer be possible.

He claimed that “mafias” are trying to stop NEIR to protect illegal business networks involving luggage parties, fake HS codes, and border smuggling.

Taiyeb said that BTRC has already requested NBR to reduce import duties and a meeting with the NBR chairman will be held soon. BTRC has also asked local manufacturers to reduce prices so customers can buy legal phones at lower cost.

He added that BTRC is working to make the registration of legally brought foreign phones easier and phones that are active before December 16 will be registered as valid.

He added that countries like India do not allow large-scale entry of unregistered foreign phones and BTRC is not obliged to lower high-end phone prices by allowing illegal imports.

Taiyeb also advised users to register SIMs in their own names to avoid problems.

Expatriates can bring one or two phones legally and register them without hassle, but Importing more than two requires NBR rules to be followed, he said..

He also added that the ministry is reviewing public suggestions on how to make registration, deregistration and re-registration easier for citizens.