Rehan Shahid 
Dec 09, 2025
The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday discussed raising concerns over what lawmakers named as excessive taxation on smartphones, with members alerting that high duties were pushing devices further out of public reach.
During the meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Qasim Gillani stated: "There’s too much tax on smartphones; they already cost too much and are beyond the common man’s reach," adding that consumers were even forced to pay tax again if their phones were stolen.
In response to the growing concerns, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Langrial told the committee that prices of several major brands had fallen, but acknowledged concerns over valuation. "If the FBR rate is higher than the market rate, it will be reduced," noted the chairman.
Tax officials added that duties were applied to the phone’s price, not the model. The FBR will present its report on the smartphone tax mechanism in March 2026.
Tax officials said mobile phones contributed Rs82 billion in fiscal year 2024-25 revenue.
Committee Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar noted that "work is needed to reduce taxes on smartphones," while another member suggested placing mobile phones in the Eighth Schedule to ease consumer costs.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major-General Hafeezur Rehman said only 6% of expensive smartphones were imported, with the rest assembled locally. The 5G license would be issued between February and March next year.
