The government has reduced customs duties on imported mobile phones for the fiscal year 2026-27, lowering the cost burden on smartphones brought into Pakistan.
Under the revised tariff structure, the regulatory duty (RD) on premium smartphones priced above $500 has been cut from Rs22,000 to Rs17,600 per handset.
This means importers will now pay Rs4,400 less in regulatory duty on each phone in this price range, a 20% reduction.
The government has also lowered the Additional Customs Duty (ACD) from 6% to 4% across the listed smartphone and cellular phone categories.
The new regulatory duty rates for completely built-up (CBU) smartphones are:
| Phone value | New RD | Previous RD |
| Up to $30 | Rs240 | Rs300 |
| $30 to $100 | Rs2,400 | Rs3,000 |
| $100 to $200 | Rs6,000 | Rs7,500 |
| $200 to $350 | Rs8,800 | Rs11,000 |
| $350 to $500 | Rs12,000 | Rs15,000 |
| Above $500 | Rs17,600 | Rs22,000 |
For smartphones and cellular phones imported in completely knocked-down (CKD) or semi-knocked-down (SKD) form, the regulatory duty has also been reduced from 5% to 4%. The ACD for these imports has been cut from 6% to 4%.
The Ministry of Commerce said the changes were introduced under the FY2026-27 Budget as part of wider tariff reforms under the National Tariff Policy 2025-30.
The move comes after a strong rise in Pakistan’s mobile phone imports during FY2025-26. Total imports of smartphones and cellular phones increased from $1.497 billion to $1.888 billion. Imports of CBU smartphones more than doubled to $357.7 million.
The government is also trying to encourage local mobile phone assembly and manufacturing. The Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020-25 has expired, and a new policy is yet to be approved.
However, incentives given to mobile manufacturers and assemblers under the previous policy remain protected through the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969.
The latest tariff cuts are expected to ease the duty burden on imported phones while the government continues to push for greater local production.
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