Federal Board of Revenue have recently announced to reduce upto 45% tax on imported mobile phones as a way to decline the growth of smuggling mafias in the country
The Federal Board of Revenue is a federal government body that investigates crimes related to taxation and money-laundering. FBR collects intelligence on tax evasion and administers tax laws for the Government of Pakistan and acts as the central revenue collection agency of Pakistan. As a way to improve the current state of the economy of the country, the FBR have announced that they will reduce around 45% tax on imported mobile phones.
The decision to reduce the percentage of tax is a way to decline the current trend of smuggling mafias currently present in the country for the mobile phone sector. This was first reported by PhoneWorld and according to the report, this will further allow international travelers who are bringing mobile phones to Pakistan from any country the world will have to now pay slightly lower taxes than before. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the Federal Board of Revenue have collaborated together and worked to establish an online based system that will hinder phone smuggling in the country and hence improve the current state of the economy. This online system will be used as a way to allow international travelers to register their phone through this system. This will be used to charge taxes/ custom duties from international travelers who have brought phones in Pakistan.
FBR has requested these users to register their phones via the procedure prescribed by PTA referred to as Device Identification Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS).FBR has also informed these users to be aware of smuggling mafia who are trying to either use their credentials or sell them illegal mobiles. However, it is important to note that, currently, the established DIRBS system by PTA has been prone to be malfunctioning which results in high taxes/customs duty being charged on low-end mobile phones. Hence, users are finding it difficult to decide whether users should register their phone or not. Finally, if a phone has not been registered post a time frame of 60 days, they will have to pay an extra 10 % fine along with the tax.
