Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that taxes of up to 60 percent on mobile phones are excessively high, adding that the regulator recommends tax reductions to the government every year.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology, the PTA chief clarified that the duties and taxes imposed on mobile phones are not levied by the PTA. He said the authority’s role is limited to operating the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) and whitelisting mobile devices.

“The PTA does not even know the exact amount of tax applicable to each handset,” he told lawmakers, explaining that taxation falls under the jurisdiction of other government departments.

Committee Chairman Syed Amin Ul Haque said smartphones are no longer luxury products and have become an essential necessity for people. He argued that the current tax burden makes smartphones unnecessarily expensive for consumers.

The PTA chairman informed the committee that the authority has licensed 37 companies to manufacture or assemble mobile phones in Pakistan. He said around 26 million mobile phones are assembled locally, while only 8 percent of handsets are imported.

Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the committee that premium devices such as Apple iPhones and Google Pixel smartphones are among the imported handsets that attract higher taxes.

Questioning Apple’s absence from Pakistan, Syed Amin Ul Haque said that if global brands such as Nokia and Samsung can operate in the country, Apple should also be encouraged to establish a presence. He directed the Ministry of IT to engage with Apple, noting that the company has already expanded into markets such as India and Bangladesh.