The federal government has decided to heavily increase the levy on the import of mobile phones in the new budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. The government has estimated revenue of Rs10 billion from the levy on the import of mobile phones.
Breakdown of the levy on the import of mobile phones
According to the Finance Bill, there shall be a mobile handset levy on the import of mobile phones at the rates specified on smartphones of different price categories. The newly proposed tax slabs are as follows:
- A levy of Rs100 on $30 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs200 on $100 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs600 on $200 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs1,800 on $350 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs4,000 on $500 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs8,000 on $700 mobile phones
- A levy of Rs16,000 on $701 mobile phones
The Finance Minister, Miftah Ismael, announced that the government had decided to increase FED on telecom services. The federal exercise duty has been raised from 16 percent to 19.5 percent in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. The recent hike is expected to put pressure on businesses and most definitely the end-user. However, the previous government had reduced the FED to 16 percent from 17 percent to facilitate businesses and provide relief to the masses.
Mobile phone imports increased to 7.43% in July-April
During the first 10 months of 2021-22 (July-April), Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.810 billion compared to $1.684 billion during the same period last year, registering a growth of 7.43 percent. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the local manufacturing plants produced 7.16 million phone handsets during the first three months of 2022 against 0.61 million commercially imported units. Out of 7.16 million mobile phones, 4.33 million were 2G smartphones and 2.83 million were 3G and 4G smartphones.
Read more: Pakistan’s IT Exports Value at $3.5 Billion, Whereas Indian IT Exports, Stand at $150 Billion
