Finance adviser chairs meeting to review duties on mobiles

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting in the federal capital in which incentives to promote digitalization of cellphones was discussed.

Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that the government was considering the rationalization of duty and taxes on the import of mobile phones. Sheikh said that the government has considered allowing overseas Pakistanis to bring one mobile phone set duty-free. 

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Overseas Pakistanis can still bring five phones per calendar year, but now they have to pay duties on each. By changing the rule, the government has closed another door for importers and traders of smuggled phones.

The import of smuggled mobiles is in hundreds of thousands, which cost the government a lot as no taxes are paid on these mobile phones. 

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The meeting was attended by Head of Digital Pakistan Vision Tania Aidrus, Jahangir Tareen and representatives of telecom companies.