Duty on mobile phones spurs illegal imports

[Naveed Yaseen]

KARACHI: The Rs750 duty imposed on mobile phones under the category of luxurious items has in fact encouraged illegal imports affecting legal trade, which has fallen drastically said the Country General Manager of Nokia for Pakistan and Afghanistan Region, Imran Khalid Mahmood.

Speaking to the media during a Nokia workshop held at a local hotel on Tuesday, he said that as part of their budget proposals, Nokia had requested the Ministry of Finance to “do away with ‘one duty for all mobile phones’ method of taxation and provide relief on cell phones valued under $100.”

He said that they had proposed to the government to reduce taxes on mobile phones as they were a necessity than a luxurious item. Global recession had affected Nokia’s expansion plans, forcing it to tread cautiously as the world’s economy was down, he added.

Mahmood said that though his organization had postponed some of their future plans for the time being owing to the global crises, they were instead focusing on optimising current capacity and adjusting cost structures of their products to remain competitive in the market and on remaining cost effective for their consumers.

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