The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has reduced customs duty or tariff on the import of mobile phones from abroad in order to increase legal imports.
The matter was confirmed by NBR officials on Thursday.
According to the new decision, the existing tariff rate on commercially imported mobile phones has been reduced from 25 per cent to 10 per cent.
Simultaneously, the tariff for domestic assembler companies has been reduced from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.
However, NBR officials have stated that the existing 1 per cent tariff for manufacturing companies remains unchanged.
NBR officials said that this decision has been taken to bring the price of mobile phones and smartphones to an affordable level, considering the interests of both manufacturing companies and consumers.
They also hope that with the reduction in tariff rates will incentivise an increase in legal imports will increase and the flow of phones brought into the market illegally will decrease.
Meanwhile, the mobile phone handset registration system – National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) – is being implemented in the country from this year, which will prevent the use of phones not registered within its system.
However, mobile phones imported illegally by evading tariffs can be sold until 15 March 2026, after which no illegal handset will be allowed to connect to the mobile network.
Business insiders have long blamed these high tariffs for the low volume of legally imported mobile phones into the country.
There is hope that the new tariff structure will increase legal imports and ensure transparency in the market.
