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Published : 07 Dec 2025, 10:49 PM
After daylong protests in Agargaon, mobile phone traders have cleared the roads following assurances from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) that their demands would be discussed with the revenue authorities and other relevant ministries.
The traders had ended their blockade at 8:30pm on Sunday.
They had been demonstrating from 10am, protesting the government’s National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR), set to take effect on Dec 16, which will render illegal handsets unable to connect to the country’s mobile networks.
Their demands included legal recognition of existing unsold stock, reduction of import duties, and simplification of import procedures.
From the afternoon, the blockade extended from Agargaon junction into surrounding lanes, leaving commuters stranded and causing extreme inconvenience.
Patients and visitors struggled to access three specialised hospitals nearby -- paediatrics, orthopaedics, and neurosciences -- amid mounting traffic chaos.
The traders said the BTRC had assured them that their concerns over NEIR implementation and import policies would be addressed through official discussions.
The protest, organised under the banner Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB), prompted authorities to call the Army to guard the BTRC building. Police have also been deployed. The situation de-escalated after the traders withdrew from the streets peacefully.
The decision to suspend the protest followed a meeting held between a delegation of the demonstrating traders and BTRC authorities after 10 hours of protest. The meeting was held around 8:30pm.
The regulator has promised to hold a meeting on Tuesday between traders and officials from the NBR, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Commerce.
The traders decided to keep mobile phone shops closed on Monday, the day before the meeting.
MBCB Vice-President Shamim Molla said, “Our first concern is how BTRC will treat our (stock) products. They said they will list all the products. Then we proposed that the NBR taxes must be reduced. The BTRC chairman will speak with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Finance regarding the matter.”
“Both sides will discuss ways for simplifying imports,” he said, threatening that disagreement on the tax issues could delay the implementation of the NEIR.
Md Aslam, president, MBCB, said: “We have been in the business for 25 to 30 years tagged as illegal traders. We told them we don’t want to remain illegal. The BTRC chairman was sincere.”
If the meeting at 11am on Tuesday failed to bring a solution, Aslam said the traders would decide the next course of their movement.
Asked about the demand to cancel or reform the NEIR system, Aslam said they were not against implementing the NEIR, given the barriers to import were removed.
“They have said that if the gap in tax issues between us remains too wide, then the NEIR system will not be launched on 16th of December,” Aslam said.
Mobile handset registration will become mandatory once the NEIR takes effect on Dec 16. Only government-approved, legally imported handsets will be allowed to connect to the mobile network. The government assured handsets active before the introduction of the new system will remain operational.
Mobile handsets in the market are mostly “unofficial” phones, meaning they are imported illegally. The government said traders brought the phones, evading taxes and VAT. In many cases, low-quality, used, or refurbished handsets are being imported from other countries and sold domestically, the government said.
Traders, however, defended their way of doing business, saying they have been operating like this for more than a decade. There has never been any objection from the government. Several thousand traders in the market were shocked when the government announced the NEIR introduction plant in late October.
