Government has made the registration of IMEI number of all mobile phones mandatory before their sale in India on its anti-counterfeit and lost handset blocking portal from 1st January, 2023.
As per a notification on 26th September 2022, all mobile phones, whether made locally or import, will need to be register and get IMEI (International mobile equipment identity number) certificates from the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction portal that is run by the Department of Telecommunications.
Notification said :
“The manufacturer shall register the international mobile equipment identity number of every mobile phone manufactured in India with the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction portal of the government of India in the Department of Telecommunications prior to the first sale of the mobile phone,”.
The notification has been issue under the Prevention of Tampering of the Mobile Device Equipment Identification Number (Amendment) Rules, 2022.
Every mobile phone comes with a unique 15-digit IMEI number which serves as unique ID of the device.
There have concerns over inability to track lost mobile phones due to the presence of counterfeit devices with the same IMEI on telecom network.
Government has launch the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) project to block and trace lost or stolen mobile phones and added Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction (ICDR) system to curb proliferation of such handsets .
As of now only blocking facilities of stolen or lost mobiles are available on the portal.
The CEIR project is working to resolve the issue of lost mobile phones by addressing the issue of counterfeit devices as well.
IMEI number of even import devices will need to be register on ICDR system, and obtaining IMEI certificates will be mandatory for the import of mobile devices through various customs ports.
Notification said :
“The international mobile equipment identity number of the mobile phone imported in India for sale, testing, research or any other purpose shall be registered by the importer with the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction portal of the government of India in the Department of Telecommunications prior to import of mobile phone into the country,”.
The ICDR system has operational since 28th January, 2020.
It can be access through a web portal for registration and generation of IMEI certificates without paying any charges.
The new system has replace the old IMEI cloning and duplication restriction system, which was operate and maintain by the Mobile Standard Alliance of India (MSAI) — a private body.
MSAI is no longer authorise for registration, generation or issue of IMEI certificates and the government directly operates the system.
