The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made it easier to register imported mobile phones, allowing individuals to pay the sales tax on their devices in monthly instalments instead of clearing the full amount at once. The relief applies to registrations processed through the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), the system that legalises and tracks mobile phones on Pakistan’s networks.
The facility comes through Customs General Order (CGO) No. 06 of 2026, which amends the FBR’s earlier 2019 order on mobile phone imports. Under the new rule, applicants covered by paragraphs A, B and C of the existing order can choose the instalment option when submitting their application through DIRBS. The total sales tax will be split into equal monthly instalments, based on the number of months remaining in the financial year, including the month in which the application is submitted.
The mechanics are simple. The first instalment must be paid through the Payment Slip ID (PSID) generated when the application is filed. Each following instalment is paid through a separate PSID generated on the corresponding date of the next month, and if that date does not exist in a particular month, the slip is generated for the last day of that month. There is one exception to the schedule: anyone importing a mobile phone in June must pay the entire sales tax by the end of that month.
All instalments must be paid by June 30, the end of the financial year. The FBR has also built in flexibility for those who want to clear the liability sooner, allowing individuals to pay some or all of the remaining tax in advance.
The warning attached to the facility is blunt. If an instalment deadline is missed, the individual is declared a defaulter: the phone is treated as unregistered and blocked through DIRBS, the entire outstanding sales tax becomes immediately payable, and the defaulter permanently loses the right to pay in instalments.
The instalment option is aimed squarely at the large number of travellers and overseas Pakistanis who register imported devices through DIRBS every year. By spreading the tax burden across the financial year, the FBR hopes to bring more phones into the legal fold and cut the wave of blocked devices that typically follows each registration deadline.
