FBR has issued new guidelines for registration of imported smartphones

New guidelines and procedures for the registration of imported mobile phone that are brought in Pakistan by international travelers have been issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

In order to facilitate international travelers, the government, with the help of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has developed a seamless method for fast and swift registration of phones carried by international travelers. Furthermore, the federal government also approved yet another extension of registration of imported and used devices to February 15th, 2019. All unregistered devices will cease to function after February, 15th.

The timing of these guidelines could not be more perfect considering the fact that the Pakistani government is introducing a new and much-relaxed visa-regulations for international travelers, which will prompt a lot of travelers to set Pakistan as their next tourist destination which means more international devices will need to be registered. However, if the time span of the tourist stay in the country is less than 30 days, then they are exempted from the mobile-registration system.

The new guidelines issued by the government are:

• PTA will provide an online service known as Device Registration System (DRS), which can be accessed by international travelers for seamless mobile registration and prompt payment of the required duty taxes. This utility can also be accessed through the franchise of mobile operators.
• The applicant will be required to submit their passport number, CNIC number, international motile equipment identity (IMEI) number, etc.
• This information will then subsequently be processed through WeBOC, a web based system for filing Goods Declarations (GD) for import and export cargo (developed by Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd) for FBR and its divisions including Customs department. The mobile devices will be cleared by the system in accordance with admissible allowances under the Baggage Rules. The first mobile phone will be allowed registration/whitelisting in DIRBS free of duty/taxes.
• In the case of second or more mobile devices, the system will electronically generate Payment Slip ID (PSID) for payment of duty/taxes.

As per FBR, the applicant will then have options to pay the leviable duty/taxes through online banking, ATM, mobile banking and bank branches of all leading banks. Once confirmed by system regarding the payment of duty/taxes, the mobile device will be white-listed in DIRBS.

“The travelers can register the mobile devices brought-in accompanied baggage following the said procedure within 60 days of their arrival in Pakistan,” said FBR.

As far as the local applicants are concerned, FBR said that they can also register through their mobile devices by providing their CNIC and IMEI number using the above-mentioned Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).