Registration of non-TRNC Mobile Devices

Since the beginning of 2016 a regulation was introduced which requires ALL mobile devices not purchased in the TRNC to be registered and for duty to be paid on their importation.

This applies ONLY to phones, tablets or other devices fitted with a TRNC Sim card.

We were told by a provider, in this case Turkcell, that any device using one of their sim cards (pay as you go OR contract) which was identified as a non – TRNC device would receive a text (see below) which required the recipient to attend the offices of BTHK in Lefkosa, to register the device at a cost of 13.3TL.

This is the text message you will receive : –

359315066366658 IMEI numarali cihaziniz kayitsizdir ve 30 gun sonra kullanima kapatilacaktir.Cihazinizi sadece 5338719031 ile kullanabilirsiniz.Bilgi icin www.bthkmcks.org adresini ziyaret edebilir veya BTHK cagri merkezini 03924442845 arayabilirsiniz

The offices of BTHK is above Domino Pizza’s in Lefkosa. The entrance to the offices are situated at the rear and is up three flights of stairs – no lift!

Directions to BTHK

From the by-pass go straight across the roundabout and continue straight until you enter the one-way system and take the right hand fork (which takes you past the turning for the Ledra Street border crossing) to the next roundabout where you carry straight on and Domino’s Pizza is about 200 metres on your left.

When we attended this office the phone in question was ‘checked’ and we were told that phones which had been previously used in the TRNC for a certain period (undefined) had been registered and there was no need to ‘re-register’ or pay duty on them.

There is a form to complete (click here to view) and once registered the completed form was handed to the Clerk who noted that the details are correct (taken from UK passport). The form was then passed to the cashier who took payment – card only. For this reason you need to take TWO photocopies of your passport with you.

Once your form is checked as correct and you have paid the registration fee, you are directed to the Customs office (same building) where you pay your duty.

The cost of the duty is set at 30% of the TRNC valuation of the device. For example an iPhone 6 has a TRNC valuation of 800TL and the duty is 240TL.

Once the duty is paid (cash only) the completed form and receipt needs to be taken to the mobile provider (Turkcell or Telsim) to complete the registration. Once you have taken the completed form to your mobile provider you will receive a text message to inform you that youare ‘temporarily registered’. Within 24 hours you should receive a further text confirming registration.