Budget 2024-25: Hike in taxes on imported mobile phones expected

The upcoming federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 includes a proposal to increase taxes on imported mobile phones, Express News reported.

Sources from the FBR revealed that the new financial year’s budget suggests imposing a federal excise duty (FED) on imported mobile phones, raising the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) tax, and further increasing the Gross Sales Tax (GST) on these imports.

The sources noted that with the current 25% GST on mobile phones, an additional increase in GST would be challenging.

The government has decided to take loans amounting to Rs932 billion for development projects in the next fiscal year.

According to sources, the federal government will secure Rs316 billion, while the four provinces will borrow Rs616 billion in foreign loans.

The Sindh government will take the highest amount at Rs334 billion, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will rely on Rs131 billion, Punjab will secure Rs123 billion, and Balochistan will borrow Rs29 billion for developmental projects.

Additionally, in response to IMF demands, the details of investments from local resources have been shared. Various departments will utilize Rs196.89 billion of their own resources for development projects.