Unregistered mobile phones: Federal government gives a new deadline
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*ISLAMABAD - The Federal government has given yet another deadline for the unregistered mobile phones in Pakistan.*
*The government has extended the deadline for registering your mobile phones till January 15 and softened its earlier policy of blocking the unregistered handsets, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday.*
In October, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had said it would block all mobile phones whose International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is not registered with it till October 20. The deadline was extended till December 31 after public backlash and panic.
The government has now extended the deadline till January 15 and also made a change in its policy, the minister said. Those with non-duty paid, unregistered mobile phones can now get their devices registered even after January 15, but they will pay a fine, which will be equal to 10% of customs duty.
The government has formed this policy to curb smuggling of mobile phones that evade taxes by using one IMEI number for multiple (read hundreds of thousands) mobile phones.
