Azerbaijan introduces ban on replacement and copying of IMEI codes of mobile phones

Baku/09.12.22/Turan: On December 9, the Milli Majlis adopted in the first reading a draft amendment to the law "On Telecommunications", according to which the country introduces a ban on replacing and copying IMEI codes of mobile phones. According to the law, mobile devices must undergo mandatory registration within 30 days after being imported and used in the country. The proposed draft amendments provide for a ban on replacing and copying the IMEI code in order to evade the registration of a mobile device.

IMEI - an international identifier created in a single copy and having no analogues (International Mobile Equipment Identity) - a unique 15-digit number that is assigned to each mobile device operating in GSM, UMTS, LTE, 5G networks. Mobile operators are prohibited from providing services to mobile devices blacklisted by IMEI codes of mobile devices.

At the same time, amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses have been proposed to increase penalties for violating the rules for registering a mobile device. Thus, fines for individuals have been increased from 300 to 400 manats, for officials - from 1,000 to 1,500 manats, and for legal entities from 3,000 to 4,000 manats. For repeated violations during the year, the fines increase by 2-3 times. These measures, if approved by Parliament, should come into force on April 1, 2023.

It should be noted that this restriction is introduced in order to prevent the use of mobile phones imported by citizens without paying a duty of 20-150 manats. Many individuals, when importing mobile devices from abroad, changed IMEI codes from old phones to new ones. Lawyers and experts in the field of telecommunications have not yet commented on this restriction. ---16D---