Senior customs officials have apprehended that customs duty of Rs 500 on the import of each mobile phone set might result in massive smuggling of this item under baggage at the airports. Sources told Business Recorder on Friday that the customs staff at the airports would remain vigilant to check suspected baggage containing smuggled sets of mobile phones.
Prior to the budget (2008-2009), there was no customs duty and sales tax on import of mobile phones falling under Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) heading 8517.1210. This arrangement had been in place for many years. It was imperative to levy customs duty on this item in addition to the activation charges. Therefore, the exemption was withdrawn and customs duty at the rate of Rs 500 per set was introduced through amendment in tariff.
Now, there are strong chances of increased smuggling due to imposition of this duty on this item. Sources said that if only one bag of 100 smuggled mobile phone sets is being cleared at the airport, it would cause huge revenue loss to the national exchequer.
In view of this situation, the customs staff would remain more vigilant during clearance of baggage of the international incoming passengers, sources added. It is important to mention that the board has estimated to collect Rs 5 billion through this levy in 2008-2009.
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