Smartphone
Smartphone Epitome Credit: Stock prototype

Dubai: Pakistani expatriates volition be allowed to bring in just 1 mobile phone to the country, per year, costless of customs duty equally per the new personal baggage rules. The annunciation was made on Twitter by Hammad Azhar, Pakistan's Government minister of State for Revenue.

He added that a maximum of five smart phones tin be brought nether the new regulations in a twelvemonth. Nonetheless, customs duty will have to be paid on the extra four handsets to require service in Islamic republic of pakistan beyond 30 days.

@Hammad_Azhar tweeted: "For people bringing in phones from away, as per personal baggage rules. I telephone per annum is allowed duty gratis and up to a maximum of 5 phones in a year tin be brought in. The duty on remaining 4 will have to be paid if you lot require service in Pakistan beyond xxx days."

Phone smuggling

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Azhar announced other major policy shifts announced to tackle the issue of smuggled phones in the country.

Azhar tweeted: "The chiffonier has decided that mobile phones sold after December 1, 2018 that are not custom duty paid (i.e. smuggled) volition exist deactivated by PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) after a lapse of 30 days."

He added that phones currently in utilise or activated before Dec 1 volition not exist affected.

The tweets gathered quick reaction from overseas Pakistanis. Some said a menstruum of 30 days was besides less.

@MashwaniAzhar wrote: "It must be iii months because many overseas Pakistanis come to Pakistan for 2 to three months."

@Syed_Sajjad added: "30 days is not enough it should exist 45 or 60 days. Delight don't add together actress problem for visitors/tourists. Also the process must be automated and less fourth dimension consuming. People come up, bask, don't desire to be disconnected and put into risks. Delight review it."

Others were concerned that this would mean having to stand up in long queues to declare phones at customs.

@AhmerMurad: "The process for proclamation and registration of the one phone allowed duty-free and for the assessment & payment of duty on the others should be uncomplicated and quick."

And @khanzeeshuu added: "[An] online machinery should be set... allocate with the passport and ticket details etc. Else we volition start seeing long queues just to declare phone with customs."

Duties, taxes

Some were unhappy that they were beingness charged again in Pakistan, after paying tax on the phones while purchasing in their respective overseas countries.

@Ijazanwar tweeted: "And they also cannot bring a custom free phone for their family for whom they are sacrificing. If someone brings from away, it has already paid VAT and duties of that state. How virtually double taxation. Must reconsider the movement and technicalities here."

According to Azhar'south tweet, a previous ban on commercial import of used phones has as well been lifted if the phone models conform to PTA regulations and duties and taxes take been paid on them.

Co-ordinate to the Pakistani paper, The Express Tribune: "On Friday, Information Government minister Fawad Chaudhry had appear that the cabinet had decided to install a new Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) to block smuggled phones after December 31. The restriction will not be imposed on the phones already in use."

Chaudhry was addressing the media subsequently a meeting of the federal cabinet. He said used mobile phones worth around Rs2.5 billion (Dh68 million) are illegally brought to Pakistan every year.

@Hammad_Azhar added: "For the purposes of implementation and enforcement of this policy, the customs electronic automated system has already been integrated with the PTA's DRIBS (Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System). The IMEI numbers of community duty paid phones is automatically uploaded into PTA's database."