Hammad Azhar Explains Tax Policy For Overseas Pakistanis

They can bring one phone duty-free

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 11th December, 2018) Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar has explained the tax policy for Overseas Pakistanis.

Taking to Twitter, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said that they can bring one phone duty-free while their registration is not required for phones on roaming.

“For benefit of people travelling into Pak from abroad, the mobile tax policy for you is: 1) One phone allowed to be registered as duty free 2) No Registration/Duty needed on any phone(s) using roaming 3) No Reg/Duty needed if phone(s) to be used in Pak for less than 30 days,” he said in his first tweet.

“Also, no registration/duty required on any phone that was activated or ever used in Pak before the 1st of December 2018,” he further said.

“Duties and registration can be done at either the airports or in any of the Custom Houses across Pakistan. Phones are not detained during the process of registration or duty payments,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudry also said that the overseas Pakistanis can bring one phone free of tax.

The information minister was responding to a follower on Twitter who had commented on a post he shared about the Rs 1 billion donation made by Overseas Pakistanis in the dams fund.

"Is this why you have banned overseas Pakistan from bringing mobile phones," Ikram Sagar had asked.

To this, the minister said that the overseas Pakistanis can bring a phone while tax is imposed on additional phones.

“We are importing mobile phones worth $2 billion. How will it work if we don’t impose taxes on them? The tax is minimal on mobile phones below the price of $60. The tax on expensive phones is 38%, there can’t be more appropriate taxation than this. We would have to adopt the tax culture,” he wrote.