Out of the 11 licensed cell phone manufacturing units in Iran, only two are currently active manufacturing about 1.5 million mobile phones every year.
“The manufactured mobiles can supply 10 to 15 percent of the domestic demand; however, there is a fierce competition in the mobile industry due to the rapidly developing technology and the quality as well as the variety of the phones available in the market, especially since the majority of the consumers are interested in certain worldwide brands,” Fararu quoted Abbas Hashemi, an official with the ministry of industry, mine and trade as saying.
Although the tariff on mobile phone imports dropped to 6% from 25% in 2013, illicit imports continued unabated.
Hashemi cited the high import tariffs, the 50-day wait of commodities at customs, and clearance costs as the reasons behind the increased profit of illegal import for smugglers that encourages them to refuse using legal channels.
A project to register mobile phones’ serial numbers was initiated a few years ago, and registering such information in customs regulators is to be executed in the near future with the cooperation of the ministry of communications and information technology. The course of action will help prevent illegal import of mobile phones and manage the market.
