Imported Phone Tax: FBR Lets You Pay in Monthly Instalments Through DIRBS
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has made it easier to register an imported mobile phone by allowing the sales tax to be paid in monthly instalments, under Customs General Order No. 06 of 2026, issued on October 22, 2026.
The order amends the FBR’s 2019 rules and introduces the instalment facility for eligible individuals registering imported phones through the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System, known as DIRBS.
How the instalment plan works
Individuals covered by paragraphs A, B and C of the existing order can choose the instalment option when they apply through DIRBS.
The total sales tax will be split into equal monthly instalments. The number of instalments matches the number of months remaining in the financial year, counting from the month in which the application is submitted. Someone who applies in October, for example, spreads the tax over the nine months left until June.
There is one exception. Individuals who import a mobile phone in June must pay the entire sales tax by the end of that same month. The instalment facility cannot stretch beyond the financial year.
The first instalment is paid through the Payment Slip ID, or PSID, generated when the application is submitted. Each later instalment gets its own PSID, generated on the corresponding date of the following month. If that date does not exist in a particular month, the slip is generated for the last day of that month instead.
All instalments must be cleared by June 30, the end of the financial year. Applicants are free to pay some or all of the remaining amount in advance at any time.
Miss a payment and the phone gets blocked
The order carries a strict penalty for default. If a person misses an instalment deadline, they are declared a defaulter. The phone is treated as unregistered and is blocked through DIRBS, which means it stops working on Pakistani mobile networks. The entire outstanding sales tax becomes payable at once, and the defaulter loses the right to pay in instalments.
This is not a tax cut
It is worth being precise about what has changed. The FBR has not reduced the tax on imported phones. The full sales tax remains due. What has changed is the payment schedule: instead of paying everything upfront, eligible individuals may spread it across the months left in the financial year.
The background confirms that. The instalment facility was first introduced through amendments to the Ninth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, under the Finance Act 2026, and the FBR explained it in Circular No. 1 of 2026, issued on September 11. But the DIRBS portal still asked applicants for the full amount, because no working procedure existed. As TechJuice reported, the facility was announced more than two months before the portal could actually offer it. The new Customs General Order is the missing piece: the actual procedure the portal can now follow.
If you want to understand what registering a phone from abroad normally costs, our earlier explainer still applies: Major Relief for People Bringing Mobile Phones from Abroad. The change matters most for buyers of mid-range handsets, where a single lump-sum tax can equal a month’s wages. For context on what budget buyers face: 10 Best Mobile Phones Under Rs 50,000 in Pakistan
It also sits alongside the FBR’s broader push to bring more people into the tax net, from AI-based cross-checking of tax returns to the recent extension of the filing deadline. The basics for new filers are covered here: How to File Taxes: A Complete 2026 Guide
FAQs
Does this reduce the tax I owe on my imported phone?
No. The tax amount stays the same. The new order only changes the payment schedule, letting you pay in monthly instalments instead of one lump sum.
Who can use the instalment option?
Individuals covered by paragraphs A, B and C of the FBR’s 2019 order, when they apply for registration through DIRBS.
What if I import my phone in June?
Then there is no instalment option. The full sales tax must be paid by the end of June, since no instalment may fall beyond the financial year.
What happens if I miss an instalment?
You are declared a defaulter. The phone is blocked through DIRBS, the full outstanding tax becomes due at once, and you lose the right to pay in instalments.
*Source: ProPakistani · Background cross-checked with pkrevenue.com and TechJuice*
