The prices of renowned mobile phone brands are all set to increase in Pakistan following a major increase in the customs values on the import of almost all models of mobile phones imported into the country.
Through a new ruling, the Directorate General of Customs Valuation Karachi has substantially raised customs values on the import of 1,160 models of famous branded mobile phones.
The Directorate has raised customs values on brands of Apple, Huawei, Infinix, ITEL, Lenovo, Meizu, Motorola, Nokia, OPPO, Samsung, Sony, Tecno, VIVO, XIAOMI, REALME, ONEPLUS, HONOR, TCL, ALCATEL, Sea Shark, X TELL, ZTE and SHARP.
The ruling added that the used/refurbished mobile phones imported by bonafide passengers shall also be assessed on the customs values given as allowance for their depreciation is also incorporated in the said tabulated values.
For assessment of brands and models that are imported in commercial quantity but are not included in the enclosed annexure, the clearance Collectorates are advised to assess those under Section 81 of the Customs Act, 1969, and then forward a reference to the Directorate for final determination of values thereof.
Earlier, the values of mobile phones were determined under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969 vide Valuation Ruling No. 1732/2023. The existing Valuation Ruling was about nine months old and the customs values determined therein were not reflective of the prevailing international market.
Furthermore, some old models given in the existing ruling have reached their End of Life (EOL) and need to be considered for depreciation accordingly. Therefore, an exercise has been undertaken by this directorate to determine the values of mobile phones under section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.
The stakeholders requested that the values be revised keeping in view the aging of the mobile phone models and a reasonable minimal depreciation in the assessable value should be extended accordingly since some of the mobile phone models mentioned in the Valuation Ruling are old but their assessable customs values are very high.
For this purpose, 90 days’ clearance data has been retrieved and the same has been scrutinized. Subsequently, a market inquiry has been conducted and examined in the light of the Directorate’s Office.
The directorate has conducted a market survey and various markets were checked to observe the actual prices of mobile phone devices. Based on available data/information collected and the exercise conducted, the values of the subject goods have been determined.
