The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have decided to end the baggage facility which is available to the International passengers who are entering in to Pakistan have decided to start taxing imports. All in all this step can be seen something appreciable as it will no doubt make things harder for the smugglers who smuggle phones inside the country and will hence discourage the mobile smuggling mafias who have been misusing the baggage facility available to them. Following the collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority PTA, FBR is now improving the overall system in order to maintain a legal and stable control over such issues of smuggling.
Moreover, it is worth noting that the, Member Inland Revenue, FBR, Hamid Atiq Sarwar has already informed Senate Standing Committee on Finance that80% of the phones that are being sold in the Pakistani market are devices which have been in via the illegal means through bagging. Furthermore the new phones are imported due to the lack of regulations set up by the Government, which might all be changing now. Other than that, the massive misuse of the facility has resulted in many illegal phones entering the market, the FBR has now decided to withdraw the facility of one duties and taxes free import phone under the baggage scheme from July 1, 2019.Following the new decision taken up by the FBR, Senator Ghous Mohammad Khan Niazi has proposed a plan to now take the tax amount in advance which will be collected from the subscribers of mobile phones.
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator further proposed that abolition tax of 3 percent on the import of mobile phone should be reviewed once again by the authorities as it is a good step for generating revenue and does not affect the lower income group as much as it does to those on higher incomes. FBR Member Policy further stated that the board have in turn merged duties and taxes on the import of mobile phones and have also proposed fixed slabs of taxes under the Finance Bill 2019 for various categories mobile devices
