93% local phones reshape FBR handset tax identification
IT minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja told senators 93% of phones in use are made locally, while FBR and PTA systems still fail to share handset model data needed for tax assessment.
A Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat session examined a disconnect between PTA and FBR over mobile phone taxes.
IT and telecom minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said 93% of mobile phones used in Pakistan are now manufactured locally.
FBR sets taxes by model and storage, but PTA’s system does not supply the handset model, complicating identification.
The minister said FBR taxes do not block 5G rollout and that overseas-brought phones are not large-scale imports.
She proposed calling the Tax Policy Office to explain the tax mechanism; the prime minister has sought an easy-instalment phone purchase policy.