Mobile phone imports hit an all-time high and ranked among the top ten most imported items into Iran, during the last Iranian year which ended in March.
According to the annual report released by Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, 3,224,617 handsets worth $528 million were brought into Iran through legal channels, indicating a 112% year-on-year increase in terms of value—accounting for 0.97% of the country’s imports bill.
Cell phone imports landed at the 9th spot in the country’s most imported items during the twelve months to March 20, while it had been ranked 13th a month before, showing an exponential hike.
Market observers are of the opinion that the Registry Scheme implemented in the second half of the last Iranian year made smuggled phones a thing of the past, leading to the surge in imports.
Aimed at curbing cellphone smuggling, the Telecom Ministry, Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, the Communication Regulatory Authority and Industries Ministry created the so-called Mobile Registry scheme, according to which local operators are barred from offering services to contraband phones.
The 112% YoY increase in phone imports is attributable to the belated government policy. The duty levied on handsets brought into the country is 18%.
Gradual Push
Implementation of the scheme had been phased to prevent a shock to the huge cell phone market. Apple phones were the first to be subjected to the scheme.
Head of CRA Hossein Fallah Jushqani pointed to the Registry Scheme’s massive impact on cutting down smuggling and said, “Since the introduction of the scheme last December, the brands Apple, Motorola, Google, Blackberry, LG, Nokia, Huawei, Sony, Techno and Xiaomi have been included in the scheme in five phases”. The final phase of the Registry Scheme will be enforced by April 20, rendering every single phone brand legally liable.
Among the remaining phone brands is the South Korean Samsung, which holds 50% of the handset market in the country.
IRICA says it lost $625 million in revenues during the fiscal year ending in March 2017 due to the rampant smuggling of cell phones.
While the government has its eyes on ‘lost revenues’, according to market insiders, since the scheme was launched, mobile phone prices jumped 20-35%. For flagship handsets, the rise translates into a $200 to $300 rise per piece.
The addition of Samsung to the scheme is certain to jack up import figures and prices alike.
Technicalities
For implementing the scheme, local authorities use an online database of the IMEI, or the International Mobile Equipment Identity, number of the functioning handsets. IMEI is a unique number—like fingerprint for electronic devices—that helps identify a mobile phone.
Since November 2015, importers of mobile phones have an obligation to register the IMEI with the database.
The IMEI number is used to identify valid devices. Therefore, only cell phones which have entered the country through legal channels can be used.
Since the Registry Scheme was launched, importers have been receiving a Registration Code from IRICA for each handset after paying the import tariff. Dealers are required to give the code to customers at the time of purchase.
The scheme, however, does not end with importers, and a complex maze awaits customers. Mobile phone buyers are now required to activate their new handsets through an online database named Hamta under the address hamta.ntsw.ir.
On the website, users should enter the new handset’s IMEI code, the device’s Registration Code and their phone number. After entering the data, the handset will be activated in the local mobile network.
The IMEI code is usually printed inside the battery compartment of the phone, but can also be displayed on the screen on most phones by entering *#06# on the dial pad, or alongside other system information in the settings menu on the operating systems of smart phones.
