iPhone 13 PTA Tax in Pakistan 2026-27
Registering an imported iPhone 13 through PTA's DIRBS system costs Rs 22,829 if you are on the Active Taxpayer List and Rs 23,799 if you are not. That is not one tax. It is four separate charges levied under four different laws, and this page shows each one with the document it comes from.
Rs 22,829
Rs 23,799
The four charges, and where each one comes from
FBR assesses the iPhone 13 at $225 C&F per set — an administrative customs value, not a market price. At the conversion rate this site uses (278 PKR/USD, as of April 2026) that is about Rs 62,550. Three of the four charges are fixed rupee amounts, so the conversion rate only moves the sales-tax line.
| Charge | Amount | Legal source |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory duty band $200 - $350 | Rs 8,800 | SRO 1064(I)/2026, S.No 553 — fixed per set, effective 1 July 2026 |
| Sales tax 18% ad valorem | Rs 11,259 | Sales Tax Act 1990, Ninth Schedule Table-II — 18% up to $500 |
| Mobile handset levy | Rs 1,800 | Finance Act 2018 s.10(1), table substituted by Finance Act 2022 s.7 |
| Income tax §148 doubles off the ATL | Rs 970 Rs 1,940 non-filer | Income Tax Ordinance 2001, First Schedule Part II, second proviso; doubled by Tenth Schedule Rule 1 |
| Total | Rs 22,829 Rs 23,799 non-filer | Sum of the four rows above |
Arithmetic check: Rs 8,800 + Rs 11,259 + Rs 1,800 + Rs 970 = Rs 22,829.
The $200 line, and why the iPhone 13 sits on the wrong side of it
This is the single most useful thing to understand about the iPhone 13's tax bill, and it is not visible from the total.
Three of the four charges change band at $200 of assessed value, and they all change at the same point. Below it, regulatory duty is Rs 6,000, the handset levy is Rs 200 and section 148 is Rs 100. One dollar above it, those become Rs 8,800, Rs 1,800 and Rs 970.
A device assessed at $200 pays Rs 16,308. A device assessed at $201 pays Rs 21,628. Rs 5,320 of tax turns on one dollar of assessed value.
The iPhone 13 is assessed at $225 — $25 above that line. The iPhone 12 is assessed at $156, below it. So the iPhone 12 registers for Rs 14,106 and the iPhone 13 for Rs 22,829: Rs 8,723 more tax for $69 more assessed value. Had the iPhone 13 been assessed a single band lower, its bill would be Rs 6,521 smaller.
Why this matters in practice: the assessed value comes from a customs valuation ruling, not from what you paid. Two people importing the same iPhone 13 pay the same PTA tax whether the phone cost them $150 or $400.
Filer status changes Rs 970 — and nothing else
PTA's own FAQ says filer status does not change device registration duty, and that is correct as far as customs duty goes. It is not the whole picture: the income-tax component under section 148 does double for people not on the Active Taxpayer List, under Rule 1 of the Tenth Schedule.
For the iPhone 13 that doubling runs from Rs 970 to Rs 1,940 — a difference of Rs 970, or about 4.2% of the total bill. It is a fixed rupee amount, never a percentage of the phone's value.
So on a phone in this band, becoming a filer to save PTA tax is not worth doing on its own. The gap only becomes large at the top of the table, where section 148 runs Rs 11,500 against Rs 23,000. Any calculator that swings your PTA tax by thousands on a filer toggle for a mid-range phone is applying a percentage where the law sets a fixed amount.
Registering the device: the rules that actually bind
60 days from the first SIM
An unregistered iPhone 13 keeps working for 60 days from the day a Pakistani SIM is first inserted. After that it stops receiving services until registration is complete.
60 days from arrival, if you flew in with it
Travellers register within 60 days of arrival using passport number and CNIC/NICOP where applicable. Some sites still say 30 days for passport holders; PTA's FAQ says 60.
There is no free device
FBR withdrew the duty-free baggage exemption on 30 June 2019. Every device being registered attracts the relevant duties. The only free facility is temporary registration — 120 days from arrival, for overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals on short visits, and it is not permanent registration.
Five devices per person per calendar year
An individual user can register up to five mobile devices in a calendar year.
Instalments are now permitted in law
The Finance Act 2026 added a sub-clause to the Ninth Schedule allowing an individual to pay mobile-device tax in instalments “as may be prescribed”, provided all instalments clear before the end of the financial year of import. Whether DIRBS has implemented a mechanism for this in practice is a separate question — the law permitting it and the system offering it are not the same thing.
Questions people actually search
How much is PTA tax on iPhone 13 in Pakistan?
Rs 22,829 if you are on the Active Taxpayer List, Rs 23,799 if you are not. That is the registration cost for one CBU iPhone 13 at the FBR assessed value of $225, and it is made up of four separate charges, not one.
Is iPhone 13 PTA tax different on passport and on CNIC?
The amount is the same. What differs is the window and the number of devices. A traveller registering against a passport must do it within 60 days of arrival, and the passport route does not make the device cheaper — FBR withdrew the duty-free baggage allowance on 30 June 2019, so there is no free device on either route.
Why is the iPhone 13 taxed so much more than the iPhone 12?
Because the iPhone 12 is assessed at $156 and the iPhone 13 at $225, and the $200 mark sits between them. Crossing it moves the device into a higher band for three of the four charges at once, so Rs 8,723 of extra tax is triggered by $69 of extra assessed value.
Does the PTA tax on an iPhone 13 change if I am a filer?
Only by Rs 970. Filer status moves the section 148 income-tax line from Rs 970 to Rs 1,940 and touches nothing else. Customs duty, sales tax and the handset levy are identical for filers and non-filers.
Is the iPhone 13 PTA tax the same as the phone price?
No. The $225 figure is an FBR customs assessed value used to work out duty, not a market price, and the tax above is what you pay to register the device — on top of whatever you paid for the phone itself.
How long can I use an iPhone 13 before registering it?
The device works for 60 days from the day a Pakistani SIM is first inserted, after which it stops receiving services until it is registered. Overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals on a short visit can instead use free temporary registration for 120 days from arrival.
Different phone?
The calculator covers every model in the FBR valuation table, including Samsung, OnePlus and Pixel devices.
Open the PTA tax calculatorWhat we do not know
- Whether DIRBS applies the non-ATL doubling at individual device registration, or only on commercial imports. The statute sets the rate; it does not describe collection practice.
- The customs valuation ruling in force for used phones. Ruling 2076/2026 (21 April 2026) appears current but has not been confirmed against the rulings index, so the $225 assessed value should be treated as our best-sourced figure rather than a certainty.
- The sales-tax line moves with the USD rate. It is calculated here at 278 PKR/USD as of April 2026; the actual assessment uses the rate applied at clearance.
Related
See the iPhone 12 Pro Max PTA tax page for how an older Pro model is taxed against the $350 band edge, the PTA mobile tax calculator for any other device, and the PTA tax guide for the registration process end to end.
Sources: regulatory duty — SRO 1064(I)/2026 (Customs), S.No 553. Sales tax — Sales Tax Act 1990, Ninth Schedule Table-II. Income tax — Income Tax Ordinance 2001, First Schedule Part II second proviso, with Tenth Schedule Rule 1. Handset levy — Finance Act 2018 s.10(1), table substituted by Finance Act 2022 s.7 and amended by Finance Act 2026 s.7. Registration rules — PTA DIRBS official FAQs. Assessed value — FBR Directorate General of Customs Valuation Ruling 2076/2026. All linked on the primary sources page; see how we verify rates and rate corrections.
This is an estimate for planning, not tax advice. Bilal Hassan is a software developer who builds and maintains these calculators, not a tax adviser — see the disclaimer. Confirm the amount payable with PTA DIRBS or FBR before you pay. Last reviewed: September 2026 — Bilal Hassan.