Imports of mobile phone decline by 5.78 percent in fiscal year 2016-17

The imports of the mobile phone in the country has drastically declined. According to recent media reports during the current fiscal year 2016-2017 the imports of mobile phones have declined by 5.78 percent when compared to the precursory fiscal year.

The government of Pakistan in Budget 2017-18 has reduced the customs duty on mobile phones to attract foreign brands to come to Pakistan. Govt has also reduced withholding tax on mobile phones from 14pc. Moreover, customs duty on smartphone sets will be cut to Rs 650 per set.

The above-mentioned reduction in customs duty and withholding tax on mobile phones might prove fruitful for the upcoming fiscal year as the 2016-17 fiscal year has seen a dip in imports of mobile phones.

There is an overall decline in imports of the mobile phone in 2016-17 fiscal year, however, according to PBS ( Pakistan Bureau of Statics) imports of mobile phones gradually increased to 12.02 percent in May of 2017 and 9.97 percent in June of 2016.

Moreover, the phone imports soared to $72.549 million in June 2017 when comparing it to imports in June 2016 which was around $65.972 million.

Read also: Software and Telecom exports to be $6 billion by 2020

Furthermore, in the 2016-17 fiscal year the overall mobile imports record at $709.69 million when compared to preceding year’s fiscal year 2015-16 which stood at $753.224 million.

Not only the mobile imports is in decline, the telecom import as a whole is also decreased by 0.38 percent in the fiscal year 2016-17. The import of telecom sector fell from $1.361 billion to $1.356 billion. However, the decreased percentage of telecom imports are not that much of a concern and would not damage the telecom sector on a big scale.

Similarly, year-on-year basis the imports of telecom sector also saw the dip as it fell from $104.441 million in June of 2016 to $102.796 million in June 2017.