ISLAMABAD: The government has reduced regulatory and additional customs duties on imported mobile phones for FY2026-27, with the regulatory duty on smartphones priced above USD 500 cut from Rs22,000 to Rs17,600 per phone.
The Ministry of Commerce revealed it in a brief, which was submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication.
Under the revised tariff structure, Additional Customs Duty (ACD) has been reduced from 6 percent to 4 percent across the listed smartphone and cellular-phone categories, while regulatory duty (RD) has also been lowered.
For CBU smartphones, the new RD slabs are as follows:
Up to USD 30: Rs240, down from Rs300
USD 30-USD 100: Rs2,400, down from Rs3,000
USD 100-USD 200: Rs6,000, down from Rs7,500
USD 200-USD 350: Rs8,800, down from Rs11,000
USD 350-USD 500: Rs12,000, down from Rs15,000
Above USD 500: Rs17,600, down from Rs22,000
This means the RD reduction on phones above USD 500 is Rs4,400 per handset, or 20 percent.
For smartphones and cellular phones imported in CKD/SKD condition, the regulatory duty has been reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent, while ACD has been cut from 6 percent to 4 percent.
The Ministry of Commerce said the reductions were made under the FY2026-27 Budget, as part of broader tariff rationalisation under the National Tariff Policy 2025-30.
The tariff changes come as Pakistan’s mobile-phone imports recorded an increase in FY2025-26. Total imports of smartphones and cellular phones rose from USD 1.497 billion to USD 1.888 billion, while CBU smartphone imports more than doubled to USD 357.7 million.
The ministry noted that the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020-25 has expired, while a new policy has yet to be approved by the federal government. Incentives available to mobile manufacturers and assemblers under the expired policy, however, remain protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969.
The tariff cuts are expected to reduce the duty burden on imported handsets while the government simultaneously seeks to promote domestic mobile-device assembly and manufacturing.
The committee discussed the delayed mobile phone tax instalment plans. Committee member Ali Qasim Gilani opened the discussion. He took credit for advocating a recent reduction in mobile phone taxes.
However, he stressed that consumers still need a viable instalment option to pay these taxes. According to Gilani, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) shifted the responsibility to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The FBR claimed that PTA possesses the required system to manage these instalments.
PTA vehemently rejected this claim. PTA member clarified that the authority neither imposes nor collects taxes. The official questioned how PTA could create an instalment mechanism for funds it never touches.
Secretary of the Ministry of IT admitted complete ignorance on the matter. He stated that the tax instalment issue was entirely outside his knowledge. He promised to consult the PTA Chairman and report back to the NA IT & Telecom committee.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee declared the mobile tax instalment plan a top priority. He ordered the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) and the PTA to arrive fully prepared with a comprehensive briefing at the next committee session.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026