Bought a Phone under My Name as a Gift and He Did Something Dodgy - Who Is Responsible?

blitzzbargain on 08/10/2022 - 23:05
Last edited 09/10/2022 - 10:33 by 1 other user

Hi All,

I bought a mobile for a friend from Officeworks, and the invoice (including IMEI) was recorded under my name. He came here for a short holiday.

So for him to use the phone in his country, he must register and pay some tax.
However, he told me that someone helped him to register the phone without a proper channel (I am not too sure whether it is legal or not)

My question is, who will be responsible for this, I bought the phone, and it may be tracked down (is it even possible?) to me as the buyer, but again, I have given him the phone as a gift.

Who is responsible IF the registration is considered not legal? What do you think?

PS. I think the same situation is if we sell our phones, then the buyer does something dodgy. What will be the consequences?

Please advise.

Thank you.

Regards,

• 

  bobbified on 08/10/2022 - 23:15

  +15

  The registration of the IMEI at the time of purchase makes the phone traceable to the person who bought it - not the person who may be responsible for any offences. If local authorities come knocking on your door, you may just need to tell them where the phone went after it left your hands.

  Having said that, I doubt any authorities from another country will bother trying to recover mobile phone tax from someone here!

• 

  Morien on 08/10/2022 - 23:34

  +3

  Doesn't matter. You won't get the doors busted down by someone doing something dodgy with a phone you bought in another country.

• 

  mskeggs on 09/10/2022 - 07:30

  +5

  You should find the story of Dr Mohamed Haneef from a few years ago very reassuring:
  https://www.smh.com.au/national/sim-card-ties-doctor-to-terr…

  I mean, he got off eventually, right.

  So the answer really depends on how dodgy the things your friend is doing are!

• 

  elgrande on 09/10/2022 - 07:31

  -1

  Officeworks

• 

  Love a bargain on 09/10/2022 - 07:50

  Not your problem. Obviously you're not the one who committed the mobile phone tax fraud in his country when you aren't even over there.

  P.S. Should have bought it in his name so that he could claim the GST back on his way home.

• 

  Baysew on 09/10/2022 - 10:34

  What will be the consequences?

  Dire.

• 

  GordonD on 09/10/2022 - 14:23

  You can buy a phone as a give for anyone you like. There is no tax. If you bought it with cash the authorities can't tie up your purchase of it with its IMEI.

  The thing that makes you responsible in this country is not the phone, it is the SIM. To use the phone you have to sign up to a plan, which gets you a SIM. To get a SIM you have to identify yourself, and supply identification information so the owner/user of the phone can be identified by the authorities in case of misuse of it.

  If you just purchased the phone and gave it to someone else you are not in any trouble, no matter what they do with it. But if you also got the SIM using your identification information then you may be held responsible if the phone is misused in any way.

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  Lordsina on 09/10/2022 - 15:54

  @blitzzbargain Is you friend from iran ?

  • 

    McFly on 07/11/2022 - 20:51

    OP has disappeared - Iranian secret police must have got them.