Fake mobile phones galore:

Govt. revenue denied

Shirajiv Sirimane

MOBILE PHONES: Illegal and smuggled mobile phones deprive the Government of revenue and the best remedy to combat this is to reduce the duty on brand new handsets, said General Manager (Emerging Asia Markets) Nokia, Prem Chand.

Speaking to Daily News he said, that the duty on a mobile phone is around 12 percent and this is high in comparison to other countries in the region.

Bangladesh charges around US $ 2 per handset and in India the duty is under 9 percent.

“If the Government reduces the duty the price of handsets would come down and more people would go to originals.

“This would bring in more phones to the market contributing more revenue to the Government coffers,” he said.

He said that they are taking up this matter with the Government relevant Ministers and senior officials during this week and are expecting a positive response.

He said that living standards of Sri Lankans and the high GDP rate make Sri Lanka one of the most potential markets for mobile phones in Asia Pacific. “This is very encouraging for a small country like Sri Lanka,” he said.

“Asia-Pacific will contribute significantly to the new 3 billion subscribers who are being connected daily. Both India and Indonesia are among the top ten biggest markets for Nokia worldwide.

India moved from the fourth place to number three in 2006,” he said. Nokia is bullish on India, as the fastest growing wireless market has emerged as the third biggest location for the company in terms of sales.

Sri Lanka is one of the foremost potential markets in the Asian region along with Bangladesh, China and India. “These countries have helped us achieve a significant growth in the volumes,” he noted.