No Further Mobile Phone Tax Cuts in Pakistan: Finance Act 2026 Rates Stay, Minister Tells National Assembly
The Finance Minister says the phone tax relief in the Finance Act 2026 is final. We read the Act: income tax on $100 to $200 phones fell from Rs 930 to Rs 100.
The federal government will not cut the tax on imported mobile phones again this year. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the National Assembly in a written reply, reported on 14 and 15 October 2026, that the relief in the Finance Act 2026 has been implemented and no further change is under consideration. The two cuts that did happen are in the Act itself: the income tax on a phone in the $100 to $200 bracket fell from Rs 930 to Rs 100, and one line of the Mobile Handset Levy fell from Rs 600 to Rs 200.
We read the Finance Act 2026 as published in the Gazette of Pakistan on 26 June 2026, downloaded from the Federal Board of Revenue's website on 19 October 2026, and found both cuts in it. The minister's reply itself is reported, because the National Assembly has not published the text where we could read it. Here is what the Act says, what it does not say, and what it means for the price you pay at PTA registration.
The minister's reply closes the door on a second cut this fiscal year
According to the reports, the written reply says the government examined the mobile phone tax regime during the budget exercise, consulted the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue and the IT industry, and enacted the agreed relief through the Finance Act 2026. Further cuts, the reply says, would hit revenue and are not being considered.
That matters because the standing committee had pushed hard for more. In April 2026 it was told that an imported phone carries tax of about 54 per cent of its value against about 25 per cent for a locally assembled one, and in June a committee member said the budget changes were insufficient and more cuts would follow next year. The reply in October says they will not, at least not before the next budget.
The earlier hope of a cut of up to half, which we reported when the committee first raised it, has therefore come to this: two specific cuts in one bracket, and nothing more until June 2027 at the earliest. The background is in the proposal to reduce PTA tax on mobile phones.
The Finance Act 2026 cut the $100 to $200 bracket, and only that bracket
The Act amends the Income Tax Ordinance's First Schedule, Part II, second proviso, and replaces the figure 930 against serial number 3 of the mobile phone table with 100. Serial number 3 is the bracket for a phone with a value above $100 and up to $200. The Act also amends section 10 of the Finance Act 2018, the Mobile Handset Levy, replacing 600 with 200 against serial number 3 of that table.
| Charge | Law amended by the Finance Act 2026 | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax on import, phone above $100 up to $200 | Income Tax Ordinance, First Schedule, Part II, serial 3 | Rs 930 | Rs 100 |
| Mobile Handset Levy, serial 3 of the levy table | Finance Act 2018, section 10 | Rs 600 | Rs 200 |
| Regulatory duty on imported phones | Customs tariff, reported 20 per cent cut | Reported | Reported |
| Sales tax on phones above $500 | Unchanged | 25 per cent | 25 per cent |
The reported reply pairs both cuts with the $100 to $200 bracket, which fits the Act's serial numbers. We could not find the regulatory duty change in the Act, because customs duty rates are set by notification rather than in the Act's text, so that figure stays reported. Phones in every other bracket pay what they paid last year.
Who saves money: a phone worth $100 to $200, and nobody else
The two cuts together take Rs 1,430 off a phone in that bracket, before the regulatory duty change. A $150 phone, about Rs 42,000 at Rs 277 to the dollar, was paying Rs 930 plus Rs 600 in those two lines and now pays Rs 100 plus Rs 200. Our arithmetic, from the Act's figures.
A phone above $200 sees no change in these two lines. The iPhone, the Galaxy S series and every flagship sit above $500, where the 25 per cent sales tax stays and the other charges are untouched. If you were waiting for the committee's promised relief before registering a flagship, the reply says stop waiting.
The practical calculation for any phone, bracket by bracket, is in the guide to how to calculate PTA tax on your phone, and the flagship figures are worked through in the iPhone 18 Pro PTA tax.
The Act also lets FBR allow instalments, but DIRBS cannot take them yet
One more mobile line in the Finance Act 2026 is easy to miss. It adds a sub-clause to the Sales Tax Act's Ninth Schedule saying an individual paying tax on an imported phone through PTA's Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System may be allowed to pay in instalments, as prescribed, provided every instalment is paid before the end of the financial year in which the phone was imported.
That is permission, not a working system. FBR has since issued a circular on it, but the DIRBS portal still asks for the full amount. The status is in PTA tax instalments: FBR allows them, DIRBS cannot take them yet. The minister's reply, as reported, does not mention instalments at all.
What to do if you are bringing or buying an imported phone now
Register on the rules as they stand, and do not wait for a cut. The window for a traveller is 60 days from arrival to register on a passport at the lower passport rate. A phone bought locally from an importer should already be registered, and the seller should show you the status before you pay.
- Check the phone's status by sending the IMEI to 8484 before you pay for it. The replies are explained in what each 8484 reply means.
- Work out the bracket from the phone's declared value in dollars, not the shop price in rupees.
- If the phone is in the $100 to $200 bracket, expect the lower income tax and levy lines on the DIRBS payment slip. If the slip shows the old figures, raise it with PTA before paying.
- Pay the full amount through the PSID. Instalments are not live on the portal.
- Keep the payment receipt and the 8484 confirmation SMS together.
If you are abroad and bringing a phone for a short stay, the temporary registration route avoids the tax altogether for a limited period. The conditions are in temporary phone registration for overseas Pakistanis.
What the reply does not settle
The reply gives no revenue estimate, no retail price data and no date for a future review. It does not say whether the regulatory duty cut applied to all brackets or only some. And it does not address the committee's main complaint, which was the 54 per cent total burden on imported phones against 25 per cent on local ones.
Our reading is that the local assembly incentive is the policy, and the import tax is the lever that keeps it. That is a legitimate policy choice. But a buyer should know that the cheap bracket got cheaper and the expensive one did not, and that no further relief is coming before the next budget.
Common questions about mobile phone import tax in Pakistan
Will the PTA tax on phones be reduced again in 2026?
No, according to the Finance Minister's written reply to the National Assembly reported on 14 October 2026. The relief in the Finance Act 2026 is final for this fiscal year.
What did the Finance Act 2026 change for imported phones?
It cut the income tax on a phone valued above $100 and up to $200 from Rs 930 to Rs 100, and cut serial 3 of the Mobile Handset Levy from Rs 600 to Rs 200. We read both in the Act's Gazette text.
Does the cut apply to iPhones and Samsung flagships?
No. Those phones are valued above $500. The two cuts apply to the $100 to $200 bracket only, and the 25 per cent sales tax on phones above $500 is unchanged.
Can I pay PTA tax in instalments now?
Not yet. The Finance Act 2026 allows FBR to prescribe instalments, with all of them paid before the end of the financial year of import, but the DIRBS portal still takes the full amount.
How much tax is on an imported phone in total?
The National Assembly's finance committee was told in April 2026 that it is about 54 per cent of the value for an imported phone and about 25 per cent for a locally assembled one. The exact amount depends on the bracket.
Where is the official rate table?
In the Income Tax Ordinance's First Schedule, Part II, as amended by the Finance Act 2026, and in section 10 of the Finance Act 2018 for the levy. The DIRBS payment slip shows the figures for your phone.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 19 October 2026. The two cuts, the serial numbers and the instalment sub-clause come from the Finance Act 2026 as published in the Gazette of Pakistan on 26 June 2026, downloaded from the Federal Board of Revenue's website on 19 October 2026. The Finance Minister's written reply of 14 October 2026 is reported, because the National Assembly has not published its text where we could read it, and the regulatory duty cut and the 54 and 25 per cent figures are also reported from committee proceedings. The Rs 1,430 saving and the $150 example are our arithmetic.
About the author
Technology Journalist & Multimedia Producer
Ahmad Ali is a technology journalist and multimedia producer at Pakistan Era, joining the team in October 2026. He covers consumer technology and digital life for Pakistani readers, combining research with hands-on product testing.
