Counterfeit mobile phone sets flood market

FE Team | Published: June 19, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Md Jamal Uddin
Illegally imported counterfeit and low quality mobile phone sets have flooded the market, deceiving the customers and depriving the government of huge amount of revenue. "Every year, almost 40 per cent mobile handsets worth around Tk 2.88 billion come through illegal way beyond the knowledge of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Customs," said Faisal Alim, Secretary General of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association. He told the FE that vested quarters involved in the illegal trading either manages the concerned authorities or prepares fake document to get access of the products to the market. He, however, blamed the authorities concerned for not taking appropriate measures to curb this illegal practice, which is growing day by day with the increasing demand for the mobile phone sets across the country. He said BTRC can easily detect the illegal sets through using International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMI) numbers. "If the authorities bring down the import duty to Tk 100 instead of 12 per cent, then the illegal import of the item will come down to a great extent," he opined. A high official of BTRC said a group of dishonest businessmen is importing the sets duplicating its No Objection Certificate (NOC) with the help of some unscrupulous customs officials. He informed the FE that they would formulate a policy to make Equipment Identification Register (EIR) compulsory for every mobile set. He, however, refuted the allegation of the association leader about BTRC's inaction and said they conducted a drive a few days ago and got one person arrested for counterfeiting BTRC document. Sources said the low quality products imported violating the conditions of BTRC are sold after changing its logo with renowned brand like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola and Philips. Monitoring the market has detected that most of the counterfeit or low quality products are marketed under the brand name of Nokia due to its immense public demand. Especially, Nokia series like N-8, N-900, 5130 and 6120 are counterfeited, according to the sources of Nokia. Kamrul Islam, a Dhaka University student, said he bought a Chinese Nokia mobile set from Motalib Plaza and it started giving trouble, especially call drop and charge problems after using it for three months. The retailers from different corners of the country buy mobile handsets from Motalib Plaza. Besides, this product is available in Eastern Plaza, Nahar Plaza, Rifles Square and Stadium Market.