PTA tax in instalments: FBR lets you pay sales tax on imported phones monthly until June

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) now lets you pay the sales tax on an imported mobile phone in monthly instalments instead of all at once when you register it through DIRBS, the PTA system that blocks unregistered handsets. The change came on Friday, 23 October 2026, through Customs General Order (CGO) No. 06 of 2026, which amends CGO No. 01 of 2019, Business Recorder reported.

If you bring a phone back from Dubai, Riyadh or London, or order one by courier, this is the first time the PTA mobile tax can be spread over the year rather than paid upfront.

Who can pay the PTA tax in instalments

The option is open to three groups, according to the order as reported:

• international travellers who bring a phone into Pakistan,
• local applicants registering a handset,
• people who import a device through Pakistan Post or a courier.

You choose instalments when you file the DIRBS application.

How many instalments, and when they are due

The number of instalments equals the months left in the financial year (July to June), counting the month you apply. So:

Each instalment is equal. The first is paid through the Payment Slip ID (PSID) generated when you submit the DIRBS application. Every later instalment gets its own PSID, generated on the same date each month; if that date does not exist in a month (the 31st in November, say), the PSID is generated on the last day of the month. You can pay any or all instalments early.

Miss one payment and the phone is blocked

The penalty for falling behind is severe. If an instalment is not paid by its due date:

1. you are treated as a defaulter,
2. the phone is treated as unregistered and blocked through DIRBS,
3. all the remaining sales tax becomes payable at once, and
4. the instalment option is withdrawn for that device.

Set a reminder for the PSID date every month, and pay from a bank app the day the slip appears.

What the order does not change

The order changes how you pay, not how much. The tax on each phone still depends on its value, as before. To see what your handset will cost before you buy it abroad, run its price through our PTA mobile tax calculator, then divide by the months left to June to see your monthly instalment.

The FBR has not yet published a figure for how many applicants it expects to use the option.