ISLAMABAD  -   Pakistan has followed the Turkish model for the new mobile tax policy for foreign visitors by allowing only one duty-free mobile phone set in a bid to stop the import of illegal phones in the market.

The PTI led government had implemented the new mobile tax policy, which had faced criticism at social media. People said that imposing high taxes on bringing more than one mobile phone from aboard would discourage the overseas Pakistanis, who are sending $20 billion foreign remittances to country every year. 

However, the government defended the move by saying it would help in stopping the import of illegal phones in the country. Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar said that Pakistan had deployed the technical solution, which is also in force in Turkey. India is charging 20 percent and Bangladesh 30 percent tax on registering the foreign mobile in their countries, Azhar told The Nation. He said that chart of tax rates on different mobile phones would be uploaded on FBR’s website. However, it was not uploaded till the filing of this report.

He said that annual mobile phone smuggling is causing Rs110 billion in revenue losses to the government exchequer annually. “It’s different. Cheaper phones have less duty. Expensive have higher rates,” the Minister for State for Revenue said when he was asked about the tax rates on registration of foreign cell phones. 

The federal cabinet had recently approved to curb illegal imports of mobile handsets. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had laid out new procedures for regularisation of unregistered mobile devices. Users of illegally imported mobile devices have until Dec 31 to get their phones regularised with the PTA, without having to pay penalty charges.

State Minister for Revenue, on his social media account,  has said for the benefit of people travelling into Pakistan from abroad, the mobile tax policy revealed that one phone is allowed to be registered as duty free. Secondly, no registration/duty is needed for any phone(s) using roaming. Thirdly, no registration/ duty is needed if phone(s) are to be used in Pakistan for less than 30 days. Moreover, no registration/duty is required on any phone that was activated or ever used in Pakistan before the 1st of December 2018.

He further stated that the duties and registration can be done either at the airports or at any of the Custom Houses across Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the FBR has also allowed open auction of the mobile phones. In this regard, the FBR has revised the procedure for auction of mobile phones seized by customs department and directed collectors of customs to destroy all confiscated mobile phones which are not certified/white-listed by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The FBR has also directed the customs authorities that only confiscated phones from PTA would be auctioned by customs authorities.

The FBR has directed Collectors of Model Customs Collectorates (MCCs) here on Thursday that the field formations shall examine the confiscated/seized mobile devices (new/used) ripe for disposal to compile the information including type of mobile phone and brands, model and IMEI numbers.

The aforesaid information both in hard/soft copy shall be forwarded to the Director (Type Approval) Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Headquarters, F-5, Islamabad for technical evaluation / certification and their white-listing in DIRBS. The soft copy shall be composed in the form of Excel Sheet with each row containing one IMEI only and shall be emailed at commercialnoc@pta.gov.pk through official email ids of the field formations.

The PTA afterwards shall issue certification in respect of mobile devices that are white-listed in the DIRBS. Thereafter, the field formations shall dispose of such mobile devices through open auction following the prescribed procedure.

The mobile devices which are not certified/ white-listed by PTA shall be processed for disposal through destruction in the manner approved by the collector/director in accordance with the regulatory requirements notified under any other law in force, as per FBR.