If you are searching for "PTA tax" on a phone, you usually want one number: how much you will pay to make an imported phone work on a Pakistani SIM. This guide explains where that number comes from in 2026-27, why the figures you see online differ so much, and the one place to get the real amount.
What PTA tax actually is
When a phone is made for sale in Pakistan, or imported through official channels, its duty and taxes are paid before it reaches the shop. Its IMEI number is already registered, and it works with any local SIM. Sellers call this phone PTA approved.
A phone bought abroad, sent by a relative, or brought in through unofficial channels has not paid that duty. To use it with a local SIM, its IMEI has to be registered in DIRBS, the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System. Registration needs the duty and taxes to be paid first. That payment is what most people call "PTA tax".
The name is misleading. According to FBR's own procedure, the DIRBS system sends your details to FBR's customs system (WeBOC), which works out the duty and creates the payment slip. In August 2026, a PTA official said the same thing in public: PTA does not impose or collect the tax, FBR does.
So for questions about how much, the answer is with FBR. For questions about registration and IMEI status, the answer is with PTA's DIRBS.
How the 2026-27 tax is worked out
The tax on an imported phone is a mix of customs duty and sales tax, set by value bands. The bands are based on the phone's value in US dollars, and the more expensive the phone, the higher the band.
During the budget process in June 2026, FBR's chairman briefed the National Assembly's finance committee on how much tax each value band carries. Dawn reported that briefing on 22 June 2026. That was a briefing on the Finance Bill, not the final law, and FBR has not posted a matching rate table on its website that we could open. The rate document FBR links to today dates from 2022.
Because of that, we are not printing a rupee table here. Any table you find online, including on calculator sites, is someone's estimate from older figures or news reports.
What changed in 2026-27
- Rates: reports from June 2026 said the tax on phones was not reduced in the budget, despite proposals to cut it.
- Paying in parts: the Finance Act 2026 added a rule that lets people pay the tax on an imported phone in instalments, from 1 July 2026, as long as everything is paid before the end of the financial year. FBR issued Sales Tax Circular No. 1 of 2026 on it, as reported in September 2026. How the instalments work in DIRBS was still not announced the last time we checked. Our guide to paying PTA tax in instalments has the details.
Why online figures for the same phone differ
You may see two or three different "PTA tax" amounts for the same iPhone or Samsung. Some reasons:
- Value is set by customs, not by the shop price. FBR assesses each model at a declared value, and it can update those values during the year.
- The exchange rate moves. Bands are in dollars, so the rupee amount changes when the dollar rate changes.
- Passport and CNIC routes differ. A traveller registering with a passport and a resident registering with a CNIC can end up paying different amounts.
- Late registration adds a fine. For a traveller, FBR's procedure gives 60 days from arrival. After that, the duty is charged along with a fine.
- Old tables. Many sites still show figures from earlier budgets.
How to find the exact tax on your phone
- Get the IMEI. Dial *#06# on the phone. Dual-SIM phones show two numbers.
- Check the status first. Send each 15-digit IMEI by SMS to 8484, or use the check box on the DIRBS website. If the phone is already compliant, there is nothing to pay. Our guide on how to check PTA status by IMEI walks through this.
- Start registration in DIRBS. Use the DIRBS website, or dial *8484# from a phone with a local SIM. Enter your passport number if you are a traveller, or your CNIC if you are a local resident, plus the IMEI.
- Read the PSID. The system creates a payment slip ID with the amount due. This is your real tax figure.
- Pay it. FBR's procedure says the PSID can be paid through online banking, an ATM, mobile banking or a branch of any leading bank.
- Check again. Once the payment is confirmed, the phone is white-listed in DIRBS and works with your SIM.
Limits worth knowing
- FBR's procedure notes that, under PTA policy, one person can register five phones in a year.
- Overseas Pakistanis and foreigners on short visits can apply for temporary registration of one phone. It is tied to a SIM in their own name and ends after 120 days.
- A phone with a stolen, duplicate or invalid IMEI is blacklisted and cannot be registered.
Should you pay the tax or buy a PTA-approved phone?
Work out the full cost before you decide. Add the shop price of the non-PTA phone to the PSID amount, then compare it with the price of the same model sold as PTA approved with an official warranty. For expensive phones the gap is often small, and the PTA-approved phone usually comes with a local warranty. For a full comparison, see PTA approved, non-PTA and JV phones.
Before you buy any used or imported phone, check its IMEI in DIRBS in front of the seller. A phone that shows as non-compliant will need the tax paid before it works with a Pakistani SIM.
Where to check official updates
- Tax amounts and rules: FBR's Mobile Devices Regularization page and FBR's customs notices.
- Registration and IMEI status: the PTA DIRBS website.
- Social media posts: treat them with care. In July 2026 PTA called a viral notice about tax instalments fake.
