ISLAMABAD — Pakistan Customs has issued a comprehensive clarification addressing recent media reports that overstated the scale of finished mobile phone imports. The authority noted that prior reports inaccurately treated the total value of mobile phone imports as completed handsets, failing to distinguish between locally assembled devices and those imported ready for sale. According to official data, Pakistan imported approximately 32 million mobile phones during the 2025–26 fiscal year, showing a stable trend compared to the 33 million units imported in 2024–25. While the total import value rose to Rs 520 billion in FY 2025–26 from Rs 427 billion the previous year, nearly four-fifths of this amount—around Rs 420 billion—consisted of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits brought in by registered manufacturers for domestic assembly. Only about Rs 100 billion represented Completely Built Unit (CBU) devices imported in finished form.
The data further revealed that within the CBU category, smartphone imports grew from 0.29 million units in FY 2024–25 to 1.04 million units in FY 2025–26. Industry analysis indicates that 60 to 70 percent of this specific growth comprised new and used Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices. Since neither brand is manufactured locally, this shift reflects genuine consumer demand rather than a failure of Pakistan’s assembly-led policy. Furthermore, commercial import channels have gained a distinct cost advantage; a commercially imported iPhone incurs roughly Rs 150,000 in duties, compared to Rs 190,000 via a passport registration and Rs 210,000 via a CNIC. Backed by stringent anti-smuggling enforcement and close coordination with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), total duties and taxes collected on mobile imports jumped by over 36 percent, rising to Rs 121 billion in FY 2025–26 from Rs 89 billion the previous year.
