Is PTA Tax Reduced in 2026? Budget 2026-27 Changes Explained
Budget 2026-27 cut regulatory duty on imported phones by 20 percent and gave extra relief on the $101-200 bracket. Here is exactly what got cheaper, and what stayed the same.
Reviewed by Salman Ahmed·Updated 27 August 2026Short answer: reduced, not abolished
Despite the IT Ministry pushing for a bigger cut, the Finance Act 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026, reduced specific duty components rather than removing the mobile-tax regime. PTA publicly confirmed in August 2026 that tax on both old and new phones remains in place, the framework itself did not go away.
The 20 percent regulatory duty cut
The government cut Regulatory Duty by 20 percent across multiple imported-phone price categories, working out to roughly Rs 10,000 to Rs 14,000 off the tax on premium, high-end handsets.
Extra relief on the $101-$200 customs-value bracket
For phones in this bracket specifically, Regulatory Duty was cut from Rs 7,500 to Rs 6,000, income/withholding tax was cut from Rs 930 to about Rs 100, and Mobile Levy was cut from Rs 600 to about Rs 20. The 18 percent general sales tax on this bracket stayed the same.
What did not change
The 18 percent GST across the board and the 25 percent luxury GST tier on the most expensive imported phones both stayed in place despite lobbying to remove them. Locally assembled phones, which make up most of the market, saw no change at all since they were never taxed under this DIRBS import structure.
Does this affect the numbers on this site
Our model-page figures follow the standard FBR slab structure and are reviewed periodically. The budget relief above mainly benefits the exact $101-200 import bracket plus a general Regulatory Duty trim on premium imports; for the live, authoritative figure on your device, always cross-check dirbs.pta.gov.pk, since exchange rates and new rulings move the number between our reviews.