Pakistan Customs today issued a clarification in response to recent media reports characterizing the full value of mobile phone imports during FY 2025–26 as representing finished mobile-phone imports. A review of official import data shows that this characterization does not reflect the underlying composition of the trade, and that the reported increase is driven overwhelmingly by inputs feeding Pakistan’s domestic mobile phone assembly industry.
According to Pakistan Customs data, the country imported approximately 32 million mobile phones during FY 2025–26, compared with approximately 33 million units in FY 2024–25 — indicating that overall import volumes remained broadly stable rather than surging, as suggested in some reports.
The total import value across all mobile phone categories rose to approximately Rs 520 billion in FY 2025–26, from approximately Rs 427 billion in FY 2024–25. However, approximately four-fifths of this value — around Rs 420 billion — represents Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits imported by registered local assemblers and manufacturers for domestic production, not finished handsets brought in for direct retail sale. Only approximately Rs 100 billion, under one-fifth of total import value, represents Completely Built Unit (CBU) devices imported in finished form. Treating the full Rs 520 billion as finished-phone imports therefore significantly overstates the extent to which Pakistan is importing completed devices rather than manufacturing them domestically.
Within CBU imports, smartphones rose from approximately 0.29 million units in FY 2024–25 to approximately 1.04 million units in FY 2025–26. Industry feedback indicates that nearly 60–70 percent of this growth comprised new and used Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices. As neither brand is manufactured locally, the rise in their official imports reflects genuine consumer demand for products that are simply unavailable through domestic assembly — not a displacement of locally manufactured devices, nor a reversal of Pakistan’s assembly-led import policy.
The shift toward documented CBU imports has also been supported by the comparative cost advantage of official commercial channels. A commercially imported iPhone attracts approximately Rs 150,000 in duties and taxes, compared with approximately Rs 190,000 when the device is instead brought in and registered against a passport, and nearly Rs 210,000 when registered against a CNIC. This differential has made lawful commercial import the more economical route for consumers, drawing volume away from informal and passport/CNIC-based channels into fully documented, duty-paid trade.
This transition is corroborated by the revenue data: total duties and taxes collected on mobile phone imports rose to approximately Rs 121 billion in FY 2025–26, from approximately Rs 89 billion in FY 2024–25 — an increase of over 36 percent, outpacing the growth in import value itself. Within this, duty collection on CBU smartphones more than doubled year-on-year, underscoring that more of this trade is now taking place through formal, tax-compliant channels rather than the grey market.
Pakistan Customs’ strengthened enforcement against smuggling and misdeclaration, improved customs clearance processes, and close coordination with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on device registration have together driven this shift from undocumented, grey-market trade toward legitimate, duty-paid imports. The result has been higher government revenue collection, greater transparency in the mobile phone trade, and continued support for Pakistan’s domestic assembly industry, which remains the destination for the overwhelming majority of import volume and value.
Pakistan Customs remains committed to safeguarding the country’s economic interests through effective border enforcement, trade facilitation, and a fair, transparent trading environment that supports both government revenue objectives and the continued growth of Pakistan’s domestic mobile phone assembly industry.
