Bill: IMEI registration of phones to add 500 mln rbl to budget

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- Registration by international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) numbers of mobile devices imported by Russians from abroad will replenish the budget with at least 500 million rubles, an explanatory note to the bill, seen by PRIME on Friday.

The document’s authors believe the initiative will eliminate gray imports and theft of devices. The current volume of illegal imports is up to 10% of the market of mobile subscriber devices, or 4.7 million units. The bulk of them are sold via non-chain retail and online stores, and the shortfall in incomes is at 5.8 billion rubles.

The imports, tied to reduction of the tax value, generates at least 5 billion rubles of a tax revenue shortfall. The share of such imports amounts to 20%.

The authors also said that some 10% of mobile devices, or 4.69 million worth 32.1 billion rubles, are purchased by Russians in foreign online stores, which do not pay taxes or duties.

According to law enforcement entities’ data for the last three years, every third theft in the country is a theft of a subscriber device.

The bill, which stipulates amendments to the law on connection, orders creation of an IMEI number central database for the phones that are permitted or banned for exploitation in mobile networks of the country, as well as databases of operators.

Under the bill, importers, manufacturers, or individuals purchasing phones abroad will be in charge of registration. The procedure will cost individuals no more than 100 rubles.

The document says connection operators can host in their networks only the devices approved for work in the country. Exploitation is banned for the phones that are unregistered, lost or stolen, those with non-unique IMEI number or the devices without an IMEI number.

Several lists of devices will be drawn up -- a black list for stolen, illegally imported, blocked on demand of the law enforcement entities; a white list for fully functioning devices in the networks of mobile connection; a gray list and a list of exceptions, or temporarily working devices for the period of a check of legitimacy of a purchase or import.

Telecommunications operators supported the bill.

(66.7377 rubles – U.S. $1)

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