Senate Committee Calls for Tax Relief on Mobile Phones
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Monday recommended an immediate reduction in taxes on imported mobile phones, questioning the existing valuation mechanism and the heavy tax burden on consumers .
The committee, chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, directed Customs authorities to devise a new mechanism for determining the valuation of imported mobile phones and sought reports from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the National Tariff Commission on the existing tax structure .
Senator Abdul Qadir questioned whether mobile phones should be taxed at all, while Senator Sadia Abbasi argued that the government should facilitate businesses rather than exploit them through excessive taxation . Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal also opposed the imposition of sales tax on mobile phones, emphasizing the growing importance of digital payments .
PTA officials informed the committee that 35 companies are currently manufacturing smartphones in Pakistan, highlighting the growth of local mobile phone production .
PVARA Briefs Committee on Crypto Market and Regulation
The committee also received a detailed briefing from Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib on Pakistan’s rapidly expanding digital assets sector . Saqib revealed that:
- 40 million Pakistanis hold cryptocurrency accounts, compared with about six million active taxpayers in the country
- Pakistan has become the world’s third-largest crypto market
- International digital currency companies including Binance have applied for NOCs to operate in Pakistan
Saqib said PVARA had been established to bring cryptocurrency users into the formal tax net. He noted that Pakistan wanted to become a global leader in Islamic finance through digital assets and planned to bring remittances onto digital platforms . He warned that restricting technology “amounts to restricting the country itself” .
The committee was informed that existing virtual asset operators must apply for a No-Objection Certificate by September 5 or cease operations . The Senate decided to seek another briefing from PVARA on digital assets and cryptocurrency regulation at a future meeting .
