Imported phones to be blocked off network until tax settlement

You should be aware that you must pay customs taxes if you purchased your phone from outside Lebanon and it hasn't worked for the past two days.

The law stipulates that whenever a phone purchased outside of Lebanon enters Lebanese territory, its holder is required to pay customs fees.

A text message will be sent to the phone owner three months after the cell phone chip or sim card is inserted to remind him/her that he/she must pay the customs fees incurred at any "LibanPost" branch.

The maximum deadline for paying the fees is three months. After that point, the phone holder is no longer regarded as a visitor but rather as a resident of Lebanon.

When it comes to customs duty prices, the customs authority sets them and sends the schedule to the Ministry of Telecommunications for distribution to "LibanPost" branches.

According to each phone model, fee rates are set.

The charges for phones purchased from outside Lebanon have therefore increased as a result of the adoption of a price of 15,000 pounds as the exchange rate for the customs dollar.

Because of the holidays, Caretaker Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Al-Qorm has given each phone owner who is required to pay customs duties an extra week to do so.

By turning off the phone and restarting it, the owners of these phones can restart their lines.

The owners can then use the "LibanPost" to pay the customs fees and dues as this system fights against smuggling and protects the rights of the treasury, which used to lose a lot of money.