The online shopping websites in Pakistan have removed Apple iPhones and Google Pixels from their catalog. It is being speculated that this move has come as a result of the heavy customs duty that the Government has recently introduced.
The government has introduced such measures in an effort to curb smuggling of smartphones in the country. The stricter regulations and duties along with the DIRBS (Device Identification Registration Blocking System) to block illegally imported phones from using any network in Pakistan is part of the government’s plan.
Big ecommerce websites such as Daraz, Telemart, and iShopping etc all have removed iPhones and Pixel phones from their catalog. Only cases and accessories for these phones are available at the moment, with no information about recent devices released by Apple and their price in Pakistan.
Furthermore, according to various reports, people who have brought in a 24,000 Rupees smartphone from abroad had to pay an additional 10,000 Rupees in terms of duties and other regulatory taxes.
One of the major ecommerce websites Homeshopping.pk speaking to a local newspaper said that due to DIRBS and lack of an official channel for importing iPhones in Pakistan, it has become difficult to sell these phones at the price that they were previously offering customers.
However, it remains unclear whether or not these websites will be listing iPhone devices any time soon again.
