How much income tax is collected at import on a mobile phone brought into Pakistan?

Most goods attract advance income tax at import as a percentage of their value. Mobile phones are different. The Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 sets a fixed rupee amount per handset, graded by the phone’s C&F value in US dollars. The figures below are those in the Ordinance as amended to 30 June 2026, which apply for tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027).

What does the law say?

Section 148(1) requires the Collector of Customs to collect advance tax from every importer of goods at the rate in Part II of the First Schedule. Part II sets percentage rates for most goods, but a proviso then says the rate of tax on the value of import of a mobile phone by any person is as set out in a separate table. Section 148(5) says the tax is collected in the same manner and at the same time as customs duty.

The table, read from the source text of the Ordinance, is:

C&F value of mobile phone (US$)	CBU condition, PCT 8517.1219	CKD/SKD condition, PCT 8517.1211
Up to 30, except smart phones	Rs. 70	Rs. 0
Exceeding 30 and up to 100, and smart phones up to 100	Rs. 100	Rs. 0
Exceeding 100 and up to 200	Rs. 100	Rs. 0
Exceeding 200 and up to 350	Rs. 970	Rs. 0
Exceeding 350 and up to 500	Rs. 5,000	Rs. 3,000
Exceeding 500	Rs. 11,500	Rs. 5,200

The Rs. 100 figure for phones between US$100 and US$200 in CBU condition was substituted for Rs. 930 by the Finance Act, 2026, according to the footnote to the table.

Personal baggage. Clause (60E) of Part IV of the Second Schedule says section 148 does not apply to mobile phones brought in personal baggage under the Baggage Rules, 2006.

What about sales tax on a phone?

Sales tax on imported phones is also in this corpus. Section 3(3B) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 says sales tax on goods in the Ninth Schedule is charged at the rates and in the manner set out there. Table-II of the Ninth Schedule sets sales tax on cellular mobile phones on the import value per set:

Category	CBU at import or registration (IMEI by CMOs)	Import in CKD/SKD condition	Supply of locally manufactured phones in CBU condition
Not exceeding US$500	18% ad valorem	18% ad valorem	18% ad valorem
Exceeding US$500	25% ad valorem	18% ad valorem	18% ad valorem

A clause added by the Finance Act, 2026 lets an individual paying tax on an imported phone through the PTA’s Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System pay in instalments as prescribed, provided all are paid before the end of the financial year of import.

The customs duty and any regulatory duty on phones come from the customs tariff and notifications that are not part of this corpus, so the full “PTA tax” total cannot be worked out here.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Faisal, a trader in Rawalpindi, imports two finished smartphones in CBU condition. One has a C&F value of US$250, the other US$600.

1. The US$250 phone falls in the band “Exceeding 200 and up to 350”. Income tax under section 148: Rs. 970.
2. The US$600 phone falls in the band “Exceeding 500”. Income tax: Rs. 11,500.
3. Total income tax collected at import: Rs. 970 + Rs. 11,500 = Rs. 12,470.
4. Sales tax: suppose the import value per set works out to Rs. 75,000 for the first phone. At 18%, that is Rs. 13,500. The second phone, above US$500, is taxed at 25% of its own import value.

The import values in step 4 are invented. Working out import value itself involves customs figures outside this corpus.

What if …?

What if I import kits for assembly? The CKD/SKD column applies. Phones up to US$350 carry nil income tax in that column, and higher bands carry Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 5,200.

What if the importer is a business? Section 148(7) makes tax collected under section 148 a minimum tax on the importer’s income from the imports, except for goods imported by an industrial undertaking for its own use. How that applies to a particular importer depends on the rest of the Ordinance.

Common mistakes

• Applying the percentage rates. The general 1%, 2% or 5.5% rates in Part II do not apply to phones. The proviso substitutes the fixed-amount table.
• Using the pre-2026 figure. The Rs. 930 amount for the US$100 to 200 CBU band was replaced by Rs. 100 for tax year 2027.
• Assuming income tax is the whole charge. Sales tax under the Ninth Schedule and customs duty are separate.

What to check in the official text

Read section 148 and the mobile phone table in Part II of the First Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance as amended to 30 June 2026, and clause (60E) of Part IV of the Second Schedule. For sales tax, read Table-II of the Ninth Schedule to the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Check the Baggage Rules, 2006, any Board notification under section 148(6A) on minimum values, and the customs tariff for duty. None of these three are in this corpus.