Kathmandu- BYD authorized dealer in Nepal, Cimex, admitted to illegally importing Chinese SIM cards into Nepal. Despite this admission, government authorities- Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Customs Department, and Nepal Rastra Bank, have remained silent.

Biznessnews reported on the illegal import of Chinese SIM cards on June 24, providing proof. Cimex, which had been importing SIM cards, halted its imports from last October.

Cimex illegally imported SIM cards and stopped declaring them as such in customs declarations only after investigative agencies showed interest.

Despite claiming to have stopped the illegal import, Cimex is now exerting diplomatic pressure on the investigating agencies to avoid further investigation.

Cimex violated customs rules, telecommunications law, and foreign exchange regulations while importing SIM cards.

A vehicle importing company is not permitted to import SIM cards, and Cimex did not obtain permission from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority to import any equipment or SIM cards. Instead, Cimex imported SIM cards by presenting GSM device type approval obtained from a third party by the Telecommunications Authority.

Despite the importing company admitting to illegal SIM imports, regulatory bodies failed to investigate properly, raising serious suspicions. The Telecommunications Authority’s role in Cimex’s illegal SIM card imports appears questionable.

Customs should’ve noticed when a vehicle importing company imported SIM cards. However, Cimex challenged the customs system and imported SIM cards without permission.
The Rasuwa Customs Office cleared the goods, turning a blind eye until evidence emerged of Cimex’s thousands of SIM card imports.

Only telecommunications service providers can import SIM cards, but records show Cimex Inc., a vehicle sales company, imported them. Customs documents reveal Cimex Inc. imported thousands of SIM cards.

An invoice from BYD HK Limited to Cimex Inc. on April 29, 2025, shows Cimex bought one SIM card for 2,300 Chinese yuan. No SIM card imported into Nepal has such a high value. Customs data indicates the average import value of a SIM card, including taxes, is between 60 and 62 rupees.

Using the declared exchange rate of 19.14, Cimex bought each SIM card for 44,022 rupees. Adding insurance, freight, and taxes, the cost of each SIM card upon entry into Nepal reached 58,587 rupees.

Cimex declared the goods as SIM cards and used the government-designated customs subheading 8523.52.10. The government exempts SIM cards imported for telecommunications purposes from customs duty, applying only 10 percent excise duty and 13 percent VAT. Based on this, Cimex’s SIM cards were cleared under the same classification.

The Rasuwa Customs Office cleared the SIM cards without Cimex Inc submitting any documents showing permission from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority or any telecommunications service provider like Nepal Telecom or Ncell.

A customs official stated, ‘They declared the goods as SIM cards. It was cleared without any clarity on whether import permission was required or not. We can’t understand why the office showed a lenient attitude towards BYD and Cimex Inc.’

There are several questions that need to be answered. Firstly, are the SIM cards imported by Cimex Inc. allowed to be imported? If so, how and for what purpose can they be used?

Secondly, if operated under roaming, how long can they legally be used as roaming SIMs?

Thirdly, can a company import roaming SIMs for personal use and sell them commercially?

Fourthly, are the taxes on roaming charges equal to or higher than the excise duty and VAT applied to SIM cards?

Lastly, how will data security be ensured if foreign SIM cards are used for years under roaming? Were these SIM cards actually used for telecommunications purposes?

Is Cimex Inc. a telecommunications service provider or merely an authorized vehicle dealer?

Despite Cimex effectively acting as a dealer of a Chinese telecom company by importing SIM cards from China, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has shown no concern.

Records show that Cimex Inc. imported SIM cards by presenting a type approval issued by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority on March 26, 2024, for a device with the model number MTCF Three, which had been obtained by a third party.

Using this device type approval, BYD dealer Cimex Inc. imported China Mobile Hong Kong SIM cards and has been selling them to customers who purchase its vehicles. The type approval was granted by Authority Deputy Director Hiranya Prasad Bastakoti.

However, it’s important to note that approval to import the GSM device was not taken by BYD dealer Cimex Inc. but by Delcon Compliance Private Limited.

The type approval for the GSM device manufactured by BYD Auto Industry Company Limited was granted for a period of five years.

By obtaining approval only for the device and importing active SIM cards of a foreign company, Cimex Inc. is effectively exporting Nepali consumers’ data to China.