ISLAMABAD: Smartphone users facing hefty taxes on imported devices have been offered some relief, as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed sales tax on imported smartphones to be paid in installments instead of in a lump sum.
The facility will be provided through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS). However, the PTA will determine the practical mechanism and procedure for paying the tax in installments.
Under the new arrangement, users will be required to clear all outstanding installments before the end of the financial year in which the mobile phone was imported.
The facility has been introduced following a new provision in the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, under the Finance Act 2026 and the Federal Budget 2026-27.
According to Qasim Gilani, users who previously had to pay approximately Rs100,000 to Rs250,000 in taxes on imported smartphones in a lump sum may now be able to pay around Rs8,000 to Rs17,000 per month through installments.
Alhamdulillah, after almost two years of struggle, we have managed to secure some relief for smartphone users who have been struggling with exorbitant taxes on imported smartphones.
Instead of paying a lump sum of around Rs. 100,000–250,000 in PTA taxes, users can now pay…
— Kasim Gilani (@KasimGillani) September 14, 2026
Gilani said he had been raising the issue for nearly two years and had strongly protested over the delay in introducing an installment plan during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunications on September 10.
After my strong protest during the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT & Telecommunications over PTA’s inability to deliver an instalment plan for PTA tax payments, I’m pleased to hear that PTA has finally allowed instalment payments on imported smartphones. Meeting was…
— Kasim Gilani (@KasimGillani) September 14, 2026
He said the new facility would help reduce the financial burden on smartphone users, adding that efforts would continue to secure further relief and concessions for the public.
The PTA is expected to announce the final mechanism and practical procedure for installment-based tax payments.
