More than two months after the government announced the plan, Pakistan’s long-awaited ability for consumers to pay PTA taxes on pricey mobile phones in instalments is still to become active.
The facility of installments was sanctioned in the Finance Bill 2026-27 and was part of the Finance Act from July 1, 2026. But despite the provision in the law for the installment payment of mobile phone taxes, there is no opportunity to actually take advantage of the provision. The procedure to be followed is not announced yet.
No obvious mechanism
The government’s June 23 decision increased customers’ hopes, especially those buying or importing high-end smartphones that may incur hefty PTA fees.
The proposed option was expected to allow eligible consumers to spread their tax payments into installments rather than pay the entire amount immediately.
However, shortly after the announcement, rumours surfaced that monthly PTA tax payments were already accessible. A further fact-check by ProPakistani revealed that there was no such installment system in place and that the PTA had not published a process for paying in installments. Fake Notification Denied by PTA
In July, confusion reigned when a bogus notification saying that mobile phone taxes could be paid in installments through the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) went viral on social media.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has rejected the notice and says it has not issued the document.
PTA further stated that assessment, imposition and collection of mobile phone taxes is the jurisdiction of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Consumers Still Paying Full Upfront Tax
The new installment service can be a big relief for individuals looking at buying pricey devices.
Heavy tax bills, often in the six figures, can be attached to imported flagship phones. Allowing users to finance these costs was supposed to make high-end products more affordable and lessen the sting of the upfront cost.
The tax was reported to be paid in the financial year of the importation of the mobile phone. But consumers can’t yet use the facility, as there are no explicit rules and no framework in place to make it work.
Big questions yet unanswered
There is, so far, no clear information on how the installment program will function.
Consumers are expecting details about:
- Number of installments permitted
- Eligibility Requirements
- Applying for the facility
- Payment methods available
- Tracking installments
- How the plan will link with DIRBS and mobile phone registration
As things stand, users still have to pay the necessary taxes before receiving full PTA approval for their imported equipment.
So the administration is getting more and more questions about when the promised facility will actually be accessible.
The PTA tax instalment option is therefore primarily a provision on paper and not a service that consumers may access until a formal process is published and a working payment mechanism is put in place.
That wait could potentially turn some buyers off from buying a PTA-approved flagship phone entirely. Some reports indicate that some consumers are using non-PTA premium gadgets as secondary devices and PTA-approved mid-range smartphones as their primary devices to avoid paying the high upfront tax expense.
