The FBR has allowed sales tax on imported mobile phones to be paid in installments, after the free mobile phone facility for travellers was discontinued in July 2019.
According to a media report, the Federal Board of Revenue has formally approved installment-based payment of sales tax on imported and personal-use mobile phones. The move comes two months after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced its tax installment programme.
An FBR circular stated that the installment facility for mobile phones had been incorporated through an amendment to the Ninth schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
However, all outstanding taxes must be paid in full before the end of the relevant financial year. The facility will be activated through the PTA’s ‘DIRBS’ system. It may be recalled that the government discontinued the free mobile phone facility for travellers in July 2019, after which advance payment of all duties and taxes became mandatory for using mobile phones on local networks.
