Sanmar Ocean City shopping complex in Chattogram stands deserted yesterday after mobile-phone retailers shut their shops as part of a countrywide protest against NEIR activation and steep import taxes. Photo: Rajib Raihan
Scores of customers faced widespread inconvenience yesterday as hundreds of mobile phone shops across the country remained closed as part of a nationwide shutdown called by Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB).
The closure came one day after the traders announced the shutdown, demanding lower import taxes, more favourable conditions for handsets, and in protest of the planned activation of National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR).
The NEIR system, slated to be introduced on December 16, identifies and blocks stolen or unauthorised mobile devices using International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, which are a unique 15-digit code assigned to each mobile device.
While some traders have supported the movement, others have criticised the move. Earlier this month, the Mobile Phone Industry Owners' Association of Bangladesh (MIOB) said the implementation of NEIR will bring order to a market long plagued by the dominance of illegal or "grey" handsets, which account for nearly 60 percent of all smartphones in use.
However, MBCB members say large portions of their inventories will become unsellable once NEIR goes live.
Photo: Prabir Das
CUSTOMERS RETURN FRUSTRATED
Amid the protest by traders yesterday, at Bashundhara City shopping complex in Dhaka, widely regarded as one of the biggest gadgets hubs in the country, shoppers wandered aimlessly as the entrance to the mobile-shop zone remained shuttered.
Many had travelled long distances, expecting to buy, sell or repair handsets, only to find the doors locked.
One customer, Md Abdul Amin, who came all the way from Basabo, said he waited outside closed shops for more than an hour. "I didn't know the shops would be closed," he told The Daily Star.
"I left other urgent work and came here to sell my mobile. Now I must return with nothing," he added.
The protest coincided with the weekly day off at Mirpur Shopping Complex in Mirpur-2, FS Square in Mirpur-10 and BCS Computer City in Agargaon. These markets remain closed on Sundays as part of their weekly holiday, meaning there were not many places for customers to go.
Bashundhara City shoping complex, which stays open, was the only option for many customers.
Jahirul Islam, for instance, had come from Shariatpur with four family members, hoping to buy a second-hand iPhone, which he said was available at cheaper prices at Bashundhara than authorised shops. But he had to return empty-handed.
"Travelling with the whole family and returning empty-handed is a waste of time and money."
Others, like university student Gaurav Das from Dhanmondi, said they had come for urgent handset servicing, only to find all shops closed.
Md Kabir Hossain from Dania came to sell his used phone. Prince, a shopper from Mohammadpur, had researched prices online and planned to buy a new handset. But the shutters of the shops were closed for all.
TRADERS WORRIED OVER UNSOLD STOCK
According to MBCB, the government currently charges about 58 percent in import duties on legally imported phones, making phones prohibitively expensive for many Bangladeshi customers. Meanwhile, NEIR threatens to render large swathes of "grey-market" stock unsellable.
As per the announcement by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), once NEIR is launched, all handsets currently in use and connected to mobile networks will remain active, but any unauthorised device purchased after December 16 will be blocked from the network.
Apart from closing shops, MBCB members and supporters also staged protests at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka around 1:00pm, carrying placards and chanting slogans to push their demands.
Speaking on the issue yesterday morning, MBCB Acting President Shamim Mollah said the burden of NEIR and high duty disproportionately threatens small traders, while large firms and local assemblers already enjoy implicit advantages.
The current conditions, including requirements such as obtaining a "mother company's certificate" for brands like iPhone, are impossible for small and medium retailers to meet, he noted.
"NEIR needs restructuring. We want to pay tax, but the regulator must remove barriers to legal imports," he said.
Asked about allegations that traders are involved in illegal importing, Shamim said they purchase phones brought into the country via "luggage baggage", meaning devices carried by travellers in their personal luggage, bypassing official import channels.
While cheaper for consumers, such handsets remain unregistered under NEIR and fall into what regulators consider the grey market.
Shamim also claimed that a handful of major businesses have established a syndicate controlling most of the country's imports and distribution, putting small to medium retailers at risk of being edged out of the market.
During their human chain demonstration at Karwan Bazaar yesterday, MBCB leaders called for immediate dialogue with the government before NEIR becomes fully operational.
At a recent event, BTRC Commissioner Mahmud Hossain said the regulator will remain vigilant to ensure that local mobile manufacturers do not hike handset prices after the launch of the system.
He also noted that BTRC has lifted all restrictions on handset sales by mobile operators through provisions that allow them to sell devices in instalments by locking the device or SIMs.
He expressed hope that after NEIR is launched, manufacturers will increase production volume, which will ultimately bring down handset prices.
