Pakistan Customs has pushed back against recent media reports suggesting a sharp rise in finished mobile phone imports, clarifying that the bulk of the country’s handset imports consist of knocked-down kits destined for local assembly rather than ready-to-sell devices.
According to data released by Customs, Pakistan imported approximately 32 million mobile phones during the fiscal year 2025-26, compared with around 33 million in FY2024-25 — indicating that overall import volumes remained largely stable year-on-year. The total value of mobile phone imports, however, rose to roughly Rs. 520 billion from Rs. 427 billion a year earlier.
Customs said the higher import bill had been widely misinterpreted. Nearly Rs. 420 billion, or around four-fifths of the total import value, comprised Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits brought in by registered manufacturers for local assembly. Only about Rs. 100 billion represented Completely Built Unit (CBU) mobile phones imported in finished form.
The authority acknowledged that imports of finished smartphones did increase — from approximately 0.29 million units in FY2024-25 to around 1.04 million units in FY2025-26 — but said the rise was driven by consumer demand for brands that are not manufactured locally. Industry feedback suggests that 60 to 70 percent of this increase consisted of new and used Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices, neither of which is assembled in Pakistan. Customs characterised the uptick as a reflection of demand for internationally sought-after devices rather than any shift away from the country’s local manufacturing policy.
The regulator also noted that official commercial imports have become more attractive due to lower tax costs. Commercially imported iPhones now face duties and taxes of approximately Rs. 150,000, compared with around Rs. 190,000 for devices registered against a passport and roughly Rs. 210,000 for those registered through a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC).
The shift toward documented channels has yielded a significant revenue boost. Total duties and taxes collected on mobile phone imports rose to approximately Rs. 121 billion in FY2025-26, up from Rs. 89 billion a year earlier — an increase of more than 36 percent. Customs attributed the higher collections and the greater share of documented imports to stronger anti-smuggling enforcement, improved customs clearance procedures, and closer coordination with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on device registration.
