Pakistan’s National Assembly has passed a series of amendments to the Finance Bill 2026-27 that partially reduce taxes on imported smartphones, following months of sustained parliamentary pressure from lawmakers who had repeatedly challenged the government’s failure to deliver on earlier assurances about mobile phone tax relief. The amendments fell short of the sweeping tax rollbacks initially sought by a parliamentary panel, but mark a policy shift toward easing the burden on mobile users. Following a long debate, the Federal Board of Revenue accepted modifications to the final Finance Bill text, agreeing to cut the Regulatory Duty on all imported smartphones by 20 percent.
Member of National Assembly Kasim Gilani, who has been at the forefront of the smartphone tax reform effort for the past six months, acknowledged the outcome was insufficient but said it was a step forward. “We understand that this is insufficient, but still, whatever has been achieved, let’s take this for this year. Next year, we will make further reductions,” he told Arab News. The amendments also target the mid-tier import bracket, specifically devices valued between $200 and $300, with a fiscal impact of roughly up to Rs 1 billion in state revenue. Gilani had argued that keeping heavy taxes on smartphones would undermine the government’s digital Pakistan agenda, and had been pursuing the issue of mobile phone taxes for the past six months, repeatedly raising concerns with the Federal Board of Revenue.
Top-tier smartphones valued above $500 remain bound to the maximum 25 percent luxury General Sales Tax schedule, with the 20 percent reduction in regulatory duty serving as their sole fiscal relief in the current budget cycle. Prior to the revisions, a combination of General Sales Tax, Regulatory Duty, Mobile Device Levy, and Withholding Tax generated a cumulative fiscal burden of 63 percent on a device’s baseline value. “If a phone costs 200,000 rupees, the tax on it right now was 106,000 rupees to be exact,” Gilani said. The partial relief delivers a meaningful but not transformative reduction in the cost of owning a legally registered imported smartphone in Pakistan, particularly for mid-range buyers where the combined effect of the regulatory duty cut and the mid-tier bracket concession will be most directly felt.
The same National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue meeting also directed the Federal Board of Revenue and PTA to develop an installment payment facility for non-registered phones currently operating outside the legal cellular network. Lawmakers suggested allowing users to pay PTA registration fees in instalments, with Gilani proposing that whichever month a user fails to pay the instalment, PTA should be able to block the device that month, with a small penalty applying for reactivation. FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial separately indicated to the committee that reducing taxes on phones priced up to $200 is also under consideration, noting that imported mobile phones generate around Rs 37 billion in annual tax revenue, of which Apple devices alone contribute approximately Rs 21 billion, giving policymakers a clear picture of the revenue at stake in any further reduction.
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