ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed individuals to pay sales tax on imported mobile phones in installments.
The facility comes more than two months after the government announced an installment option for PTA taxes on mobile phones.
The new system will operate through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).
The FBR introduced the facility through a new provision in the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
The details were explained in FBR Circular No. 1 of 2026, issued on September 11.
Under the new provision, individuals can divide their sales tax payments into installments instead of paying the full amount at once.
However, taxpayers must clear all installments before the end of the financial year in which the mobile phone was imported.
The facility was introduced through amendments made under the Finance Act, 2026.
It provides greater flexibility for individuals paying taxes on imported mobile devices. However, the full tax liability must still be paid within the prescribed financial year.
The next step now rests with the PTA. The authority will need to introduce a mechanism through DIRBS to facilitate installment payments.
Pakistan introduced DIRBS in December 2018 to identify unregistered mobile phones and block devices that failed to meet tax and registration requirements.
The government also withdrew the duty-free facility for mobile phones brought into Pakistan by travelers from July 2019.
Since then, imported mobile phones have generally required payment of applicable duties and taxes before registration.
The requirement has placed the tax burden directly on individuals bringing mobile phones into Pakistan for use on local networks.
