Three government agencies, namely the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Communication and Information and the Ministry of Trade will issue a joint regulation on 17 August. This regulation concerns the control of the Mobile Phone’s Original Identity Number or IMEI.
The government plans to block cellphones that enter Indonesia through non-official channels aka black market (BM), through the implementation of IMEI the government will rely on a technology developed by Qualcomm.
According to the government, this regulation is an effort to free from illegal cellphones that are considered detrimental to the state, industry, and consumers.
According to data from the All-Indonesian Mobile Phone Association (APSI), which was reported by Liputan6.com, the potential tax losses arising from the circulation of BM cellphones are around Rp. 2.8 trillion per year. In addition, the blocking of low-priced BM cellphones in Indonesia also aims to protect the domestic cellphone industry, and minimize data theft.
The following are the characteristics of mobile phones that will be blocked by the government:
1. No Official Warranty: because BM phones are always not accompanied by an official warranty from a domestic brand/manufacturer, it means that if the cellphone is damaged, the cellphone cannot be repaired or replaced with a warranty at an authorized service center or distributor. If you intend to buy a new phone, make sure that the phone you buy has an official warranty from the manufacturer.
2. Cheaper Prices: BM cellphones are known to be cheaper than cellphones marketed in general, because black market cellphones don’t go through a tax process first, and if you want to know whether a BM cellphone is or not, you can check the series or model of the cellphone on the distributor’s official website / domestic manufacturers, if the series or model is not on the official website, it can be ascertained that the cellphone is illegal.
3. Commonly Sold in Online Stores: BM phones are widely sold online with various series and brands at affordable prices, such as reconditioned or counterfeit phones that are offered as original phones, replica phones, or even failed products. Of course, this practice can harm consumers, but it is possible that BM cellphones are also officially sold at counters in remote villages.
4.No IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is an identity code owned by every mobile device. The IMEI can be found on the back of the phone, on the battery, or on the box that packaged the phone itself. Every phone has a different IMEI. Kominfo and the Ministry of Industry collect IMEI data obtained from the registration process for cellular phones, handheld computers, and tablet computers, as stipulated in the Regulation of the Minister of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia No. 108/M-ENG/PER/11/2012, if the BM phone doesn’t have an official IMEI the government will freeze it. To find out that your cellphone is officially registered by the government, you can go through the website imei.kemenperin.go.id then enter the phone’s IMEI code in the IMEI check column, if the IMEI is registered it will display the words “IMEI registered in the Ministry of Industry database. The IMEI can be identified from the case of the phone, the back of the phone, the battery, or by opening the description of the phone. You can also dial *#06# on the dial up menu and the IMEI code will appear on the phone screen. IMEI can also be seen in the settings menu > About Device > Status > IMEI Information. Black market phones purchased before 17 August 2019 will not be blocked immediately.
However, the provisions for the period of use will be determined later in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. Consumers can still buy cellphones from abroad as long as the importation follows the provisions of the applicable laws and regulations.
