ISLAMABAD — The government has reduced regulatory and additional customs duties on imported mobile phones for the fiscal year 2026-27, lowering the tax burden across different smartphone price categories.
According to a Commerce Ministry brief, the regulatory duty on premium smartphones valued above $500 has been reduced from Rs22,000 to Rs17,600 per handset. This represents a reduction of Rs4,400, or 20%.
Additional Customs Duty has also been cut from 6% to 4% across the listed smartphone and cellular-phone categories.
Under the revised structure for completely built-up smartphones, regulatory duty has been reduced from Rs300 to Rs240 on phones valued up to $30; from Rs3,000 to Rs2,400 on devices between $30 and $100; from Rs7,500 to Rs6,000 on phones between $100 and $200; from Rs11,000 to Rs8,800 on devices between $200 and $350; and from Rs15,000 to Rs12,000 on phones valued between $350 and $500. For devices above $500, the duty has fallen from Rs22,000 to Rs17,600.
For smartphones and cellular phones imported in completely knocked-down or semi-knocked-down condition, regulatory duty has been reduced from 5% to 4%, while additional customs duty has fallen from 6% to 4%.
The Commerce Ministry said the reductions were introduced under the 2026-27 federal budget as part of broader tariff rationalisation under the National Tariff Policy 2025-30.
The changes come after a sharp increase in Pakistan’s mobile-phone imports during 2025-26. Total imports of smartphones and cellular phones rose from $1.497 billion to $1.888 billion, while imports of completely built-up smartphones more than doubled to $357.7 million.
The ministry also noted that the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020-25 has expired and a new policy has yet to receive federal approval. However, incentives provided to local mobile manufacturers and assemblers under the previous policy remain protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969.
The tariff reductions are expected to lower duties on imported handsets at a time when the government is also seeking to encourage domestic mobile-phone assembly and manufacturing.
