Jrbashyan: Armenia's choice of IMEI regulation model requires serious economic and legal justification

 
YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. Regulating the IMEI system is not a matter of technology, but of the quality of government regulation, notes Tigran Jrbashyan, Director of the Ameria Management Consulting Service.

"The Armenian government has submitted a bill to create a unified state system for registering and monitoring IMEI numbers for mobile devices. I want to make it clear from the outset: the state certainly has the right to combat smuggling, illegal trafficking, tax losses, and counterfeit IMEI numbers. However, the main issue lies elsewhere," he wrote on social media.

Noting that various regulatory models are currently being used around the world to achieve the same goals, the expert explained that in the vast majority of EU countries, such issues are addressed through customs control, the international GSMA system, cooperation between mobile operators and law enforcement agencies, and criminal liability for IMEI counterfeiting. At the same time, mandatory state registration of every mobile device is not the predominant approach in the EU.

"On the other hand, a different approach to regulation has emerged in EAEU member states in recent years. Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia have already implemented or are implementing state IMEI registration systems, including state registries, data exchange with operators, and the ability to restrict the operation of unregistered devices," he notes.

Explaining that the proposed Armenian bill is clearly closer to this approach in its regulatory architecture, Jrbashyan said he was unable to find any binding decision by the Eurasian Economic Commission that would obligate EAEU member states to implement such a system.

"This means that this is not a legal obligation within the EAEU, but rather a national regulatory model chosen by Armenia," he believes. In this regard, Jrbashyan notes that the deeper the state's intervention in the market, digital infrastructure, and citizens' rights, the higher the requirements for the quality of analysis, transparency of public discussion, and the validity of decisions.

Therefore, the expert states, it is logical to obtain answers to the following questions:

• Was a full-fledged Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) conducted?

• Were alternative regulatory models, including European experience, considered?

• Why were less restrictive regulatory instruments rejected?

• What calculations substantiate that the chosen model is the most effective and proportionate for Armenia's conditions?

 
"And finally, the most important question. If Armenia deliberately chooses a regulatory model that is structurally significantly closer to the approach developed in EAEU member states than to the model applied in the vast majority of EU countries, then what is the basis for this choice, and what objective advantages does it provide for Armenia?" he writes, adding that this choice must have the most justified economic, legal, and institutional explanation. Jrbashyan also believes that if such a comparative analysis and regulatory impact assessment have been conducted, it would be appropriate to publish them for public discussion, as transparency and justification are among the most important principles of modern public administration.

About the Bill

The bill amending the Law on Electronic Communications, adopted by the Armenian government on June 26, stipulates mandatory IMEI code verification by mobile operators when providing communications services.

According to the bill, citizens importing a mobile phone manufactured between 2025 and 2026 will be required to register the device by paying a state fee of 3,000 drams. Registration of older phones will be free of charge.

At the same time, an increased fee is imposed for the import of additional phones within one year: 100,000 drams for a device manufactured in 2026 and 20,000 drams for a phone manufactured in 2025.