PTA Tax on a Phone Gifted From Abroad: What You Need to Know
A gift does not mean tax-free. Here is who registers a gifted phone, and why hand-carried gifts cost less than couriered ones.
Reviewed by Salman Ahmed·Updated 27 August 2026A gift does not mean tax-free
DIRBS taxes the device, not the transaction. Whether you bought the phone yourself, someone shipped it to you, or a relative handed it to you as a gift, the same registration and tax rules apply once it connects to a Pakistani SIM.
Who registers it: you, not the gifter
The person who will actually use the phone in Pakistan registers it against their own CNIC or passport. It does not matter whose money paid for the device abroad, DIRBS only cares whose identity the IMEI is registered to.
If the gifter carries it in personal baggage themselves
If a relative personally flew in and hand-carried the phone as their baggage, the passport concessionary rate can apply, as long as an eligible passport holder registers it within the standard window after arrival. The saving only applies to a device physically brought in by a travelling passenger, not one that was shipped.
If the phone was posted or couriered instead
A phone sent by courier or international post is generally treated differently from personal baggage and can face additional customs handling on top of the standard DIRBS tax, since it was not carried in by a travelling passenger. Expect a higher total cost than the same phone brought in someone's hand luggage.
Practical tip before accepting a gifted phone
Ask which route the phone is coming through, hand-carried or couriered, and check the model's estimated tax on our calculator before it arrives, so there is no surprise PSID amount once you try to register it.