FBR weighs whitening scheme for smuggled mobile phones

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is weighing a leeway for the dealers and retailers of mobile phones and electronic goods to legalise their non-duty paid imports by depositing certain amount to national exchequer, a senior official said on Tuesday.  

“We have sent a draft proposal to the FBR for a formal approval to give an opportunity to dealers of electronics to legalise their non-duty paid mobile phones,” said Tariq Huda, Collector Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) of Preventive, Karachi.

A couple of months back, the preventive collectorate launched a massive crackdown against the smuggled mobile phones and sealed several shops in Karachi.

The customs authorities said the shopkeepers agreed to pay duty and taxes on their phones. The retailers argued that they were sellers and made purchases from importers.

Sources, citing a report forwarded to the FBR, said the smuggling of mobile phones has caused Rs100 billion of losses to national exchequer.

However, the collector did not confirm the figure.

The sources said many leading brands of cellular phones, which have either no dealership or no agents in Pakistan, are being sold in the markets. 

The sources said the local importers, called Khepia in vernacular, are supplying such branded mobile phones to the local markets. 

Huda said Pakistan Customs had requested companies of all leading cell phone brands to nominate their agents in Pakistan and their equipment should be sold through such agents.

The latest smuggled phone scam surfaced following the mandatory requirement of an approval for imports from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). 

The sources said the importers had complained the customs authorities that the approval procedure was cumbersome.

They said the customs authorities asked the FBR to withdraw the mandatory requirement of PTA approval for cell phone imports.