Govt considering proposal to abolish tax on mobile phones, Senate told

The government is considering a proposal to abolish taxes on mobile phones, Minister of State for Interior Tariq Fazal Chaudhry informed the Senate during a session on Thursday.

Speaking during the Senate session, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that due to prevailing circumstances, the government sometimes had to take measures that were not desirable, including the imposition of taxes on mobile phones.

He told lawmakers that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) was currently reviewing a proposal aimed at abolishing taxes on mobile phones in order to provide relief to consumers.

The minister explained that mobile phones brought into Pakistan from abroad are automatically blocked after a few weeks because they are required to be registered on the local network.

He said phones coming from outside the country are blocked due to network registration requirements under the existing system.

Tariq Fazal Chaudhry added that the government was making efforts to facilitate overseas Pakistanis and address issues faced by them regarding mobile phone usage and registration in the country.