Beginning January 2025, all foreign arrivals will be required to disclose their IMEI numbers. The government has introduced the same measure, requiring both locally manufactured and imported phones to have their IMEI numbers revealed as it seeks to expand the tax bracket.

However, the measure has raised several unanswered data privacy questions from among Kenyans who are concerned, despite Kenya being not the first country to have introduced such policies.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), in partnership with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), had announced the mandatory policy that will see Kenyans and those arriving from abroad to disclose their IMEI numbers—a move seeking to curb tax evasion.

The mobile network operators within will as well be helpful in detecting tax evasion loopholes through the verification of tax compliance status on a whitelist database prior to enabling device connection.

All devices, whether imported or assembled in the country from November 1st, 2024, will be affected by this new measure. 

The Kenya Revenue Authority has also mandated retailers and wholesalers to only distribute or sell mobile devices that are tax-compliance. Plans are underway to launch a platform by the Authority that will enable distributors to verify devices before selling them to end-users.

On November 5th, 2024, the KRA’s Commissioner Cstoms and Border Control department, charged with the implementation of the said new requirements, reiterated the same measures to importers and passengers arriving in the country effective January 1st, 2025.

“All importers of Mobile Devices will be required to submit detailed import entries for all mobile devices with accurate quantities, proper description specifications, and their respective IMEI numbers in the Customs system.”

“Passengers entering the territory of Kenya will declare the details and the respective IMEI numbers for their mobile devices intended for use during the stay in the country at the port of entry on the F88 passenger declaration form.”

Device assemblies are required to “register on the Customs portal and submit a report of all devices assembled for the local market and their respective IMEI numbers.”

A section of Kenyans have maintained that there is a serious foul at play, which is beyond tax integrity—debunking the new requirements as a ploy to snoop on government dissents. This comes after months of peaceful serenity rented the country following the June-July nation-wide demonstrations. They are saying that this is a wheel to crack down on and ensure an absolute grip on power over government critics.

Countries with the Mandatory Requirement for IMEI number Disclosure  

The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number serves as a unique identifier for mobile devices, akin to a digital fingerprint. A number of countries are introducing mandatory IMEI number disclosure due to several reasons, including security and crime prevention, tax compliance, device management and network integrity, and public health and safety initiatives.

Indenisia

Indonesia introduced mandatory registration of IMEI numbers for phones purchased abroad on April 18, 2020. This requirement was aimed at restricting the circulation of black-market mobiles—going to the protection of local industry.

India

The mandatory registration of IMEI numbers was put in place from January 1st, 2023, by the Department of Telecom (DoT). This new rule applies to all mobile phones, whether locally made or imported, which required the certification from the Indian Counterfeited Device Registration portal.

Myanmar

In May 2022, the Myanmar government implemented the mandatory IMEI registration for all mobile devices. Myanmar implemented a mandatory tax of $3 for device registration in bid to generate additional revenue. The mandatory is also meant for device tracking and security, which is useful for combating theft.

Pakistan

The Pakistani government introduced Device Identification Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS) on December 1, 2018 to crack down on counterfeit mobile phone usage and curb phone theft.