Used-Phone Trade Tension: BTRC–Grey Market Deadlock Deepens Ahead of NEIR Rollout
The government remains firm in its stance to stop the influx of stolen, refurbished, and illegally imported mobile phones, while grey-market traders continue to insist on allowing the import and sale of used devices. Their message is clear: “No matter how simplified the import policy becomes, we must be allowed to conduct used-phone business.”
Leaders of the Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB) made the remarks after their third round of talks with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Tuesday, following days of protests, blockades, and unrest in the Agargaon area.
The 14-member delegation met BTRC officials for several hours at the commission’s headquarters. After the meeting, MBCB President Mohammad Aslam said the dialogue yielded no positive outcome, adding that BTRC “has no new decision regarding the NEIR.”
He further said, “No one pays attention to what we say. We can’t tolerate this pretence anymore.”
Earlier, unauthorised importers and sellers had blocked roads in Agargaon for nearly 10 hours on Sunday. Tuesday’s meeting was arranged as the third attempt to resolve the standoff.
According to traders, their primary agenda was approval for used-phone imports, but BTRC did not entertain the proposal. Brigadier General Mohammad Aminul Haque, Director General of BTRC’s Spectrum Division, led the discussions.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, MBCB Vice President Shamim Molla said, “Our demands were ignored. They understand what we mean before we even say it, yet pretend not to understand. We cannot accept this pretence.”
He urged traders to remain calm until Wednesday, when they are scheduled to meet with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Ministry of Finance.
MBCB President Mohammad Aslam said, “Our only agenda today was used phones. Around 70–75% of people in this country buy used phones, use them, resell them, or exchange them. We told them repeatedly that these phones are unfairly labelled as clone, copy, or refurbished. We don’t sell clone or copy devices. We bring in high-quality used phones from wealthy countries and sell them here.”
He added that although BTRC claims it is not prepared to handle second-hand phones, traders have offered to pay for the necessary NEIR equipment themselves.
Government officials maintain that in the absence of proper monitoring, many traders repackage stolen, low-quality, or refurbished phones and sell them as new. For the first time, traders have publicly admitted to importing used phones from abroad.
Aslam said a final meeting will be held Wednesday with the Ministry of Commerce and NBR, after which they will decide whether to continue their movement.
Bangladesh is set to implement the National Equipment Identification Registrar (NEIR) on 16 December. Once enforced, only legally approved handsets will remain active on mobile networks. However, the government has clarified that devices already active on the network before 16 December will not be disconnected.
Officials and domestic manufacturers argue that the government is creating legal pathways for grey-market traders to import phones properly and to regularise handsets already in circulation.
The Postal and Telecommunication Division (PTD) has scheduled a meeting at 3 pm on Wednesday with MBCB, the Mobile Industry Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (MIOB), NBR, and other stakeholders. The meeting will be attended by Economic Adviser Dr. Salehuddin and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Affairs, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb.
DBTech/IH/EK/OR
