Syed Saif Ul Hassan 
Nov 21, 2025
An undated image of a person buying phone. — Unsplash
In an unfortunate development expected to drive up taxes and discourage mobile phone sales, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) tax on mobile phones in Pakistan is set to remain high.
It emerged as the government has ruled out any reductions in telecom-related taxes due to stringent conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), owing to an acute revenue shortfall and Pakistan's long-running economic challenges.
What makes the high-end devices particularly expensive in Pakistan is the imposition of substantial import and registration fees under the current PTA tax structure.
How much you pay in taxes on iPhones: Actual cost of iPhone 17 in Pakistan
For example, the PTA tax on an iPhone 17 can add approximately Rs128,700 to the iPhone 17's actual price, propelling the total cost of the latest iPhone model to around Rs355,600 before retailer markups.
This high taxation inflates the retail prices of smartphones, making them less affordable for many consumers.
Regardless of repeated requests from telecom operators for withholding tax cuts and low duties on mobile devices, government officials have clearly stated that no tax cuts can be considered while Pakistan remains dependent on IMF financing.
Citing senior finance officials, TechJuice noted that the IMF has not allowed any fiscal space for tax relief, making it impossible to ease the burden on consumers and the telecom sector.
As a result, the high PTA taxes on mobile devices are likely to persist, subsequently contributing to a growing trend of grey-market purchases, where consumers get their hands on cheaper alternatives to evade the brunt of the formal retail environment.
With the IMF's restrictions firmly in place, the future of mobile phone taxation in Pakistan remains bleak, and consumers are likely to face high smartphone prices.
