Parliament committee recommends slashing heavy taxes on smartphones
Business
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance has recommended reducing hefty taxes on imported smartphones, calling them out of reach for ordinary citizens.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance has called for a significant cut in taxes on imported smartphones, saying the current rates make them too expensive for the average consumer.
The committee directed the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to prepare a detailed report on reducing taxes on smartphones, to be submitted by mid-March 2026.
During the session, the Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) noted that 98 percent of locally manufactured phones do not support 5G, while only 2 percent do. The 5G spectrum is set to launch in February 2026.
The committee highlighted that PTA taxes on imported phones can reach up to 60 percent of the phone’s value. Committee Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar emphasized that smartphones are now a basic necessity, not a luxury, and should be affordable for everyone.
Member Sharmeela Farooqi said that excessive taxes make phones unaffordable, citing a case where a phone costing PKR 370,000 carried PKR 190,000 in taxes.
FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial stated that average smartphone prices have fallen and that the ministry can work with the IT Ministry to adjust tax schedules accordingly.
The FBR collected a total of PKR 8.2 billion in smartphone taxes in the last fiscal year. The committee stressed that reducing tax burdens would make smartphones more accessible to ordinary Pakistanis.
