The Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association (PMPMA) has called on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to honor the commitments made by the government to investors and refrain from increasing the tariff structures for mobile phones.
The federal government is contemplating imposing an 18 percent sales tax on mobile phone assembling units in the upcoming budget.
In a recent meeting with the FBR, the PMPMA delegation expressed concerns that increasing tariffs would not only disrupt the localization schedule but also negatively impact the export targets for mobile phones from Pakistan.
The delegation emphasized that implementing an 18 percent sales tax on all mobile phones assembled in the country would severely impact the industry. Under the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020, phone sets priced up to $350 are exempt from the 18 percent sales tax, while sets above this price range are subject to the full sales tax.
The Association highlighted that the majority of local companies assemble phone sets within this price range, which accounts for around 55 percent of smartphones used in the country. They noted that increasing the sales tax would disproportionately affect these companies, potentially leading to higher prices for consumers and reduced competitiveness for locally assembled phones.
