PTA tax on phones: registering a phone from abroad, and the free period for visitors

If you are visiting Pakistan from abroad, you don’t have to pay PTA tax on one mobile phone: a free temporary registration lets it work on a Pakistani SIM for 120 days. To keep a phone working longer, you register it in DIRBS and pay FBR’s duty and taxes. From 1 July 2026 that means Rs 250 customs duty, Rs 240 to Rs 17,600 regulatory duty by value band and 18% or 25% sales tax. On CNIC you also pay advance income tax.

What is PTA tax, and who has to pay it?

“PTA tax” is the everyday name for FBR’s customs duty and taxes on a phone brought from abroad. Phones are registered in DIRBS, PTA’s device registration system, and a registered phone is white-listed there. FBR sets and collects the duty and taxes.

FBR’s Customs General Order 01 of 2019, as amended up to 21 March 2024 (the mobile phone CGO), sets out three routes:

• Temporary registration, free: for overseas Pakistanis and foreigners on short visits, one phone only.
• Passport registration, paid: for a phone you brought in your accompanied baggage, within 60 days of arrival.
• CNIC registration, paid: for local residents. This route costs more, as shown below.

A phone you order by post or courier is released only after you show you have paid a PSID (Payment Slip ID) generated through DIRBS.

How does the free 120-day registration for overseas Pakistanis work?

FBR announced the temporary registration with PTA, FIA and the mobile operators on 7 March 2022. It is for overseas Pakistanis and foreigners on short visits, including people working or studying abroad, who don’t plan to keep the phone in Pakistan. PTA said on 2 July 2025 that overseas Pakistanis can use it for 120 days on each visit.

The rules in the mobile phone CGO:

• One phone only. The facility covers a single handset.
• SIM in your own name. You give your passport number, arrival date, intended departure date, a Pakistani SIM issued in your name, and the phone’s IMEI (its unique device number). Your arrival is checked against FIA’s border records and the SIM’s owner against the operator’s records.
• That SIM only. The IMEI is paired with the SIM you declared. With any other SIM, the phone gets no network.
• Blocked after 120 days. After 120 days, the IMEI is blacklisted from local networks. On a later visit, you apply again with the same details.
• No passing it on. An IMEI already used for the facility can’t use it again on someone else’s passport. That phone must then be registered by paying duty and taxes.

How much is PTA tax on a mobile in 2026-27?

The charges depend on the phone’s value in US dollars, as customs assesses it. The table lists each charge from 1 July 2026, as of October 2026. FBR publishes no official all-in total per band. DIRBS works out the exact amount when it issues your PSID.

Sources: customs duty from the 2026-27 Customs Tariff; regulatory duty from SRO 1064(I)/2026; sales tax from the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act; advance income tax from the First Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance. “Filer” means you are on FBR’s Active Taxpayer List (ATL); people not on it pay double, as FBR’s withholding rate card shows.

On passport, leave out the last column. You pay customs duty, regulatory duty and sales tax only.

Sales tax is a percentage of value, so it is the part you can estimate yourself. If customs values your phone at Rs 1 lakh, 18% is Rs 18,000; at 25% it would be Rs 25,000. Add the fixed duties for your band to get close to the total.

What changed from 1 July 2026:

• The Finance Act 2026 cut the advance income tax in the $100 to $200 band from Rs 930 to Rs 100.
• The IT Ministry’s proposal to cut sales tax on phones above $500 from 25% to 18% was not adopted in Budget 2026-27, TechJuice reported.

Is PTA tax cheaper by passport or by CNIC?

Passport is cheaper, for two reasons in the law:

1. No advance income tax. Clause (60E) of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance says the section 148 advance tax doesn’t apply to phones brought in personal baggage under the Baggage Rules, 2006. On CNIC that tax is up to Rs 11,500 for a filer and Rs 23,000 for someone not on the ATL.
2. No additional customs duty. SRO 1063(I)/2026 charges a 4% additional customs duty on goods with specific-rate duties, which includes phones at Rs 250 per set. It does not apply to imports under the Baggage Rules, 2006.

We couldn’t confirm whether DIRBS actually adds the 4% additional customs duty to CNIC assessments. The passport route is only open within 60 days of arrival. After that you pay the duty and taxes plus a fine.

FBR changed its system in May 2021 so a passport registers only one phone at the passport rate. The mobile phone CGO says that, under PTA policy, one person can register up to five phones a year in DIRBS. If you bring several phones, expect only one to get the passport treatment.

To check or change your ATL status, see how to check filer status and filer vs non-filer.

How do I register my phone on DIRBS and pay?

Stolen, duplicate or invalid IMEIs are permanently blacklisted, the mobile phone CGO says, so a phone with a bad IMEI can’t be registered at all.

Can I pay PTA tax in instalments?

The law now allows it for sales tax. The Finance Act 2026 added a rule to the Sales Tax Act: an individual paying tax on a phone through DIRBS may be allowed to pay in instalments, with all paid before the end of the financial year of import. The details are “as may be prescribed”, and we couldn’t confirm that DIRBS offers the option yet, so check when you apply.

If you are buying a phone in Pakistan rather than bringing one, see mobile phones on installment.

More guides: customs duty in Pakistan, sending money to Pakistan, travel insurance for Pakistanis, all Visas, Phones & Money guides.