Arminfo. The legislative package of amendments to the Law “On Electronic Communications” and related laws is aimed at comprehensively reforming the communications sector, strengthening state control, combating the shadow electronics market, and enhancing consumer rights. At a meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the RA National Assembly on September 30, the amendments to the above-mentioned package submitted by the RA government for first reading are being discussed.
Presenting the amendments, RA Minister of High-Tech Industry and Artificial Intelligence David Tadevosyan noted that the amendments require additional discussions, and therefore asked that consideration of the document be postponed for two months. The minister noted that the package provides for the establishment of a new company, which will be created with the participation of telecommunications market operators to monitor mobile phone IMEI codes. In particular, the new company will be tasked with creating a registry containing all mobile phones legally imported into the republic. The company will also impose sanctions on phones brought into the country through gray-market schemes. “However, I must note that the package requires clarification, including regarding technical regulations, and in this regard, we ask for a two-month period to resolve all these issues,” the minister noted.
It should be noted that the key change provided for by the legislative act is the introduction of a unified state system for registering and monitoring mobile phone IMEI codes, which is to become fully operational on January 1, 2027. The main objective of the package is to combat gray imports, which entails IMEI registration. Starting January 1, 2027, mobile phones illegally imported into the Republic of Armenia will not be activated or operate on the networks of local mobile operators. The amendments oblige telecommunications operators to verify a device’s unique IMEI code when connecting any services. If the code is not present in the unified database of legally imported goods, the device will not receive network access. Registering phones manufactured in 2025 and 2026 will require payment of a state duty of 3,000 drams. Devices of older models will be registered free of charge.
The purpose of the changes is to eliminate shadow turnover, suppress the trade in counterfeit or modified identifiers, and ensure the cybersecurity of citizens’ personal data.
