IMEI

All phones sold in India must have a valid IMEI Numbers. The phones without IMEI number shall not be allowed to be imported or sold in India. The policy in this behalf is issued by DOT, GOI and the Department of Customs known as DGFT/Commissioner customs.

Some details:

• The first 8 digits of IMEI are called TAC and are allocated to the Mobile Equipment manufacturers or Brand owners (Type allocation Holder) by GSMA, which is an international body representing the interests of worldwide telecom operators. This is relied upon by various Governments across the world to identify the user.
• The IMEI in mobile phones are inserted by the phone manufacturers. They obtain IMEI Numbers from their Country from authorized body of GSMA. The individual user is not supposed to insert IMEI numbers in phone.
• The mobile manufacturer in India or abroad can take IMEI number from any recognized body of GSMA. For Indian manufacturers, the IMEI numbers are issued by TÜV SÜD BABT (previously known as British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) UK)
• At the time of import of mobile phones in India, the custom checks authenticity of IMEI number by a IMEI Certificate issued by Govt. of India, Department of Telecom free of charge AND by log into the website of DOT in this behalf.
• The applications for IMEI Certificates are to be made on https://icdr.ceir.gov.in This is Indian Government Counterfeited Device Restriction (ICDR) system, which has been developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).The new system has been operationalized w.e.f 28.01.2020. IMEI Certificates are issued free of charge.
• Please note that till April, 2019, the IMEI Certificate was issued by a private company MSAI at very high costs. They are not authorized to issue any IMEI Certificates presently.
• No IMEI number is required for import of SKD/CKD of mobile phones.
• The procedure and orders for this has been issued by DOT, GOI. Available at https://dot.gov.in/circulars/imei-certificate-import-mobile-handsets-india and attached here with Click here
• The complaints and procedure for lost mobiles reporting is given at Government website https://ceir.gov.in/Home/index.jsp

Background Details of IMEI

• A Standard Operting Procedure (SOP) (Version 1.0) was issued by Department of Telecommunications for “Implementation of Central Government notification prohibiting import of mobile phones with duplicate, fake and non-genuine International Mobile Equipment Identity” vide letter dated 29th May, 2015
• The SOP was prepared and issued for implementation of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT) notification No.107/(RE-2013)/2009-2014 dated 16.01.2015 for prohibiting import of mobile handsets with duplicate, fake and non-genuine International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) on directions from the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi to DGFT to bring out a mechanism as to how and by what mechanism the notification dated 16.01.2015 will be implemented. The said notification inter-alia states as below: (i) Import of ‘GSM mobile handsets’ (classified under ITC (HS) Code 8517) without International Mobile Equipment Identity(IMEI) with all zeroesIMEI,duplicateIMEI or fake IMEI is prohibited.
• (ii)Import of ‘CDMA mobile phones’ (classified under ITC (HS) Code 8517) without Electronic Serial Number (ESN)/Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), with all zeroes as ESN/MEID, duplicate ESN/MEID or fake ESN/MEID is prohibited.
• International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a 15-digit unique identification code for each mobile device used in telecom network.

GOVT has made mandatory registration of IMEI Numbers for local manufacturers w.e.f. 1.1.2023. Relevant orders are given below:

• CEIR-ICDR-HELP-DOC-13102022
• Public_Notice
• Gazette Notification
• SOP

The format of IMEI consist of 8-digit Type Allocation Code (TAC), 6-digit Serial Number (SNR) and last digit is checksum. The TAC reveals the manufacturer, make & model and type approval details.