The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a public notice warning against the use and sale of unregistered mobile phones in the country.
According to the notice, devices not registered through PTA’s Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBS) may result in legal action under existing laws. The authority emphasized that the use of such devices undermines regulatory compliance and poses risks to national security.
The notice outlines several consequences associated with unregistered mobile phones. These include violations of PTA regulations, threats to national security, disruption of mobile network performance, and increased vulnerability of users’ data and privacy. PTA also highlighted the role of these devices in facilitating financial and cyber fraud, raising concerns about their growing presence in the market.
Only those devices that are registered through DIRBS and have cleared all applicable taxes with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) are considered legal for use in Pakistan.
The public notice further references the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, under which the sale, purchase, or promotion of unregistered joint venture (JV), duplicate, or cloned devices is deemed a punishable offense. In the local market these devices are also known as patched phones.
The notice said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in coordination with PTA, is actively pursuing operations targeting the illegal mobile phone trade.
Actions being taken include raids, arrests, confiscation of unauthorized devices, and criminal proceedings against offenders. The collaboration aims to dismantle networks responsible for distributing these non-compliant devices across the country, it added.
PTA has urged citizens to refrain from buying or selling unregistered phones and encouraged them to report any such activity. Complaints can be filed through the FIA’s online portal or PTA’s official website, it added.
Unjustified huge taxes on mobile phones is the main reason behind these patched phones. Dumb policy makers should think practically. They can get more taxes by reducing the taxes, which encourage peoples to use the legal phone not patched.
Too much taxes have killed the industry no idea who was the mind behind those taxes he should be thrown way. 1% should be tax for mobile phones.
Exactly Sir. These idiotic approach never pays. This is something beyond their apprehension. God help us.
What a joke . People pay PTA fees which is almost equal to the phone actual price .
National security excuses don’t work . Kindly help the people instead of threatening them.
The days of threats are over .
100% right. The last sentence is the voice of millions in this country.
You,re spitting facts bro | so are they literally gonna seize jv phones as well ?
Wow authorities threatening people . Remind me again in history where has that ever worked?
We used to afford phones . Now we can’t even afford anything thanks to PTA .
Threatening people won’t help anyone .
Problem is on both sides govt put huge taxes to curb import of phones so that only locally assembled phones get sales and push local economy which was inherently good but on the other hand very few assembly factories are in Pakistan and people can’t get every device they want with Pakistani source. Neither govt plans properly nor our nation has any sense of responsibility to this nation. Whoever can afford goes for anything they want. Top to bottom everyone is just for themselves so I think nobody has any right to complain. Injustice is main feature of our people. Nobody is willing to pay legal taxes as per law. May be just 5-10% of our population is actively pay their income taxes other than salaried middle class. Local business have like 60% of economy share and pay only 5-7% of income taxes. That’s the main reason we get indirect taxes in name of gst, vat, withholding, tarrifs and so on. And only increase burden on lower and lower middle class. Whenever there is an attempt to bring people to tax net people refuse to get registered and submit their earnings because everyone wants to avoid it. And that’s the reason nobody cares about corruption of elites because deep down everybody is corrupt in this country if people of this country were declaring their incomes and paying income tax they would not go by with those exorbitant high indirect taxes which impact those who are already crushed in this economy.
Stupid people with stupid mind sets even they know the actual reason why people are using the illegal act because of unjustified rate of TAX, instead of minimizing the TAX % they start threatening people.
There is a bunch of idiotic people in PTA who thinks that if a person bought Samsung’s used phone for 70K should pay them 60K in taxex! The simple solution was to get a patched phone. Lower your taxes and people will pay you and will use authorized and registered imei phone.
Such a foolish policies of FBR and PTA they got loan from IMF and IMF make policy to get more tax from people to boost economy but they only taxes from phones will stable economy 😞 so sad that shows the mentality of that’s people in pta and fbr they have tax ratio on mobile of 160k and tax on it is 185k how rude is that the government should take to think on it because before 2018 there is no tax on mobile but after they made tax on it and increase the tax like the company increases the price of every product
Very sad this type of frustrated economy only exists in Pakistan an Islamic country have such type of unislamic rules that is spreading un Islamic activities.
Why people of Pakistan forces to use China’s dumb mobile only that couldn’t be sell anywhere in the world are selling bcz govt have such policies.
People can’t use an average used device bcz of this as a necessity has been declared as luxury items
03185333951. / ufone .sim SOHAIL BANGASH
The majority of people are upset and feel dejected on highest tax policies. Isn’t there people among authorities who realize that main target or effecties are Freelancers who mainly depend on high tech (not luxurious) devices to earn revenue for their families and for Pakistan.