The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has adopted a two-phase plan to reactivate the National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR), with the first phase scheduled for 1 January 2027, to curb tax evasion involving illegal mobile handsets and address security risks and financial fraud linked to unregistered and cloned devices.
The proposed rollout aims to tackle estimated annual government revenue losses of Tk2,000 crore from tax evasion involving illegal handset production, smuggling and unauthorised sales in the domestic market, according to a document presented at a commission meeting.
Under the first phase, BTRC plans to activate the system's original features, except for the de-registration mechanism. Handsets already operating on mobile networks will be automatically registered, while the IMEI data of unsold handsets held by authorised importers and local manufacturers will also be included.
The system will also identify and block illegal, smuggled and tax-evading handsets brought into the country 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 director general of BTRC's Spectrum Management (SM) division presented a detailed working paper on reactivating NEIR at a commission meeting, noting that key features had remained disabled since the system's experimental launch on 1 July 2021.
"Following the experimental launch on 1 July 2021, the system was kept operational without the automatic blocking of illegally imported phones and without features to stop cloned handsets, as per the decision of the then government.
"As a result, the primary objectives of establishing NEIR are being directly hindered," the document said.
BTRC's SM division 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 the system's full deployment.
On 29 October 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 28 June 2025.
At a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on 1 December 2025, officials directed the full reactivation of NEIR across national networks.
Although the system was prepared for full rollout on 1 January 2026, its key blocking features were withheld to avoid public inconvenience.
In a formal letter issued on 9 June 2026, security agencies highlighted economic and national security risks and stressed the need for full deployment.
An inter-ministerial meeting on 2 July 2026 discussed vulnerabilities involving IMEI numbers, SIM registration and fraud involving mobile financial services (MFS). The meeting recommended the full deployment of NEIR.
At a further high-level meeting chaired by the home minister on 22 September 2026, representatives from the PTD, Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies formally recommended a two-phase rollout by 1 January 2027.
According to the meeting's decision, unregistered, stolen and cloned handsets are used in organised crime, handset theft and fraudulent MFS transactions. Security agencies consider full deployment 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.