NTA implemented MDMS from today, mobiles sets not registered in the system will stop functioning

KATHMANDU: Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) has been implemented by Nepal Telecommunication Authority to prevent the import, use, and distribution of mobile phones without a license. The authority released a notice to the public on Saturday informing people that the MDMS system will be operational as of May 1 following the cabinet meeting on May 26 that decided to implement the MDMS system.

We have finally implemented MDMS, according to Purushottam Khanal, chairperson of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority. “There was a Covid-19 outbreak at that time. Additionally, communication chips were in short supply everywhere. Due to a number of issues, we were unable to implement it. MDMS is successfully put into use this time.”

Additionally, if mobile devices are not registered in the MDMS system, they will be regarded as being illegally imported and used in Nepal. Such phones stop functioning after a certain amount of time without registration. In other words, no mobile network service is received.

According to the directives of the first Prime Minister, the MDMS system’s implementation was halted. This year, however, after the Council of Ministers’ most recent meeting resolved the matter, it was decided to move forward with the implementation, according to Achyutanand Mishra, an assistant spokesperson for the authority. “.

The MDMS system had previously been partially implemented by the authority in July 078 and August 079. On January 15, 2007, it was stated that the system would be fully operational.

However, there was strong opposition to the requirement that Nepali workers who returned from overseas employment pay taxes and customs duties on mobile phones they brought back. Following public criticism, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ordered against implementing the system right away.

Rekha Sharma, the government spokesperson and minister of communications and information technology, stated about four months later that the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday last week resulted in the decision to implement the MDMS system in addition to the amenities that those seeking foreign employment are permitted to bring one more ie, two cell phones.

Mobile phones that are imported for personal use from another country and cleared at customs are automatically registered in the MDMS system, according to the authority’s notification.

Two phones do not have the duty-free option for travelers who are coming home from another country. Only Nepalese citizens who have worked abroad for at least six consecutive months with a work permit are exempt from duty if they bring two mobile phones, according to a notice released by the Customs Department on Sunday.

Others assert that you must pay tax as though you are bringing a business phone if you bring more than one phone. Depending on the cost of the phone, 20.5 percent excise duty and 13 percent value added tax are assessed.

It is claimed that a person can register themselves online for the MDMS system of such a phone authority. To complete the customs process, it is said that Nepalis who have returned from overseas employment with an additional mobile phone must declare it at the customs office from which they originally arrived.

The individual who is concerned with the mobile device that was imported from another country is required by the authorities to register in MDMS with their passport or proof of citizenship, as well as the page of their passport that contains their arrival and departure stamps, or their boarding pass.

The authority has instructed the user to only buy a mobile phone in Nepal after confirming that it is registered in MDMS. Before importing a mobile, the importer or seller must obtain the authority’s prior approval. Only mobile devices that have been registered with the authority may be sold or distributed, according to the regulator.

The authority reports that the MDMS system currently has 27 thousand mobile devices registered. 4 million mobile devices are thought to not have their IMEI numbers registered. 79,000 IMEIs are on the gray list, according to Mishra, the authority’s spokesperson, which was created from the white, gray, and black lists based on IMEI numbers registered in the system.

White list indicates functional, usable phones. Black lists are maintained for stolen, lost, and illegal phone numbers. The gray list contains mobile IMEI numbers that have received complaints and are the subject of investigations.