Domestic Industry Hit by Illegal Cellphones’ Circulation

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO

Mobile phones without any official guarantee are sold at a cellphone outlet at the Roxy Mas ITC shopping center in Jakarta on Thursday (15/8/2019). Cell phones without warranty have entered Indonesia illegally.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The rampant circulation of illegal cell phones in the country has not only eroded state revenue but also hit the domestic cell phone industry. As they are not subject to taxes, illegal cell phones are sold at lower prices, both offline and online, taking the market away from legal ones.

Indonesian Cell Phone Association (APSI) estimates that 9 million illegal cell phones are being circulated in the black market, amounting to 20 percent of the 45 million cell phones in the domestic market in 2018.