TEHRAN – Cellphone users in Iran shall resume the registration process based on the country’s telecommunications database from late April.

Iran performs the long-awaited national scheme to stop growing market for smuggled cellphones.

In the second half of the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2018, about half of brands at cellphone market were registered.  

Iran Customs Administration has imposed a 5-percent customs duty on the imports of cellphones and the importers should pay the 9-percent value added tax (VAT).

Those devices which are not registered with the database will be considered contraband and will be rendered unusable in the country.

According to Iranian officials 12.5 million cellphone devices are smuggled into the country depriving the government of $350 million in tax revenues, Head of Iran's State Union of Audio-Video Equipment and Cell Phone Sellers Ebrahim Dorosti announced in a press conference in January 2018.

The officials have estimated that worth of $2.5 billion of phone devices are smuggled into the country per year, he said.

SB/MQ/MG