Fiscal Year 2020: Duty of Rs 54 billion on import of mobile phones in the country

 

Last year, Pakistan Customs collected Rs 54 billion on imports of mobile devices through the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), up 145 percent from the previous year.

According to the newspaper, the data released by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) shows that the reason for the increase in revenue from the import of mobile phones is that no one now pays duty / smuggled phones in Pakistan. Payment and cannot be used without registration with Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).

According to a customs official, Pakistan Customs, in collaboration with PTA, had introduced DIRBS to curb the use of smuggled devices in the country. This successful intervention attracted huge investments in the country.

The official said that 17 companies are currently manufacturing mobile phones in the country while TCL is also planning to invest in Pakistan's mobile phone industry with Airlink, while another company Alcatel is also considering the same. 

Meanwhile, China, which is geographically close and a global hub for handset manufacturing, is currently looking to invest abroad due to rising labor costs and trade tensions with the United States, which provides a huge opportunity for Pakistan. does.

He said that better use of information technology and implementation of targeted operations against smugglers has largely solved the problem of availability of smuggled goods and provided space for local industry.

The government had also withdrawn the duty-free mobile handset facility from abroad under the Baggage Rules from July 1, 2019, and the decision was taken in view of several complaints of misuse of the scheme, according to the FBR.

Official data shows that during the financial year 2020, passengers brought 1,389,707 mobile handsets under baggage and registered them with DIRBS, as a result of which Pakistan Customs issued mobile phones to passengers under baggage. Last year, it collected more than Rs 5.80 billion on imports.

On the other hand, there is a clear policy for commercial import of mobile phones and during the financial year 2020, under commercial imports, 19.8 million handsets worth Rs. 209.31 billion were imported on which the FBR spent Rs. Received revenue of Rs. 414 million.

In May, the government approved a mobile phone manufacturing policy that has helped boost the local handset industry, which can be internationally competitive.

With the increase in the size of the market as well as the shift to 4G, local demand is sufficient.

In addition, other related industries such as packaging, plastics and IT software already have a strong presence in the local market.