Pakistan has reduced import duties on mobile phones, but buyers who want to pay handset taxes in instalments still have no workable option. The Ministry of Commerce told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication that regulatory duty (RD) and additional customs duty (ACD) have been reduced for FY2026-27. In the same meeting, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the IT ministry each indicated that another body was responsible for the instalment plan.

All regulatory duty rates on fully built smartphones have been cut by 20%. On phones costing more than $500, the duty has fallen from Rs22,000 to Rs17,600, a reduction of Rs4,400 per handset. Phones priced at $350-500 now pay Rs12,000 instead of Rs15,000, and those at $200-350 pay Rs8,800 instead of Rs11,000.

Cheaper models receive the same percentage reduction. Phones priced at $100-200 now pay Rs6,000 instead of Rs7,500, and those at $30-100 pay Rs2,400 instead of Rs3,000. Handsets costing less than $30 now pay Rs240 instead of Rs300. ACD on all listed phone categories has been reduced from 6% to 4%.

Phones imported as kits for local assembly also benefit. For completely and semi-knocked-down units, RD has been reduced from 5% to 4% and ACD from 6% to 4%. The ministry said the cuts were made in the FY2026-27 budget as part of tariff rationalisation under the National Tariff Policy 2025-30.

The changes follow a sharp increase in phone imports. In FY2025-26, imports of smartphones and mobile phones rose from $1.497bn to $1.888bn, an increase of about 26%. Imports of fully built smartphones more than doubled to $357.7m.

There is also uncertainty about policy for local manufacturers. The ministry said the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020-25 has expired and that the federal government has not yet approved a replacement. Incentives for local manufacturers and assemblers under the old policy remain protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969. The government says it wants to reduce duties on imported phones while also supporting domestic assembly.

Ali Qasim Gilani, a committee member, raised the issue of tax instalments. He said he had pushed for the recent reduction in mobile phone taxes but argued that consumers still need a practical way to pay those taxes in instalments. He said the FBR had passed responsibility to the PTA, claiming the regulator already had a suitable system.

The PTA strongly rejected that claim. One of its members said the authority neither imposes nor collects taxes and asked how it could run an instalment scheme for money it never receives.

The secretary of the IT ministry said he knew nothing about the instalment issue. He promised to discuss it with the PTA chairman and report back to the committee.

The committee chairman said the instalment plan was a top priority. He instructed the IT ministry and the PTA to provide a full briefing at the next meeting. Until the agencies agree who is responsible, consumers will benefit from lower duties but still have no option to pay handset taxes in instalments.