ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The government of Pakistan (Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and relevant Provincial Revenue Authorities) have levied two types of taxes on Cellular Mobile Services i.e. Withholding tax (WHT) @ 12.5% and General Sales Tax (GST) @ 19.5%.
The withholding tax is deducted upon recharge/reload of card whereas the GST is applicable on usage/subscribing bundles.
Upon recharge/reload of a Rs 100 card, an amount of Rs 11.11 is instantly deducted as the withholding tax whereas the GST is levied on usage basis i.e. per call, SMS & data usage.
The above information was shared with the National Assembly on June 5, 2020 by the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division in reply to a question by Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) lawmaker Shazia Marri.
Furthermore, details of prepaid packages/tariffs, internet bundles, and hybrid bundles along with applicable prices for internet, SMS, voice, and other social applications offered by Cellular Mobile Operators were also provided in the House.
The House was that no incident of misleading advertisements by mobile companies has been found and customers are charged according to advertised tariffs.
It may also be noted that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations 2009 (amended in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016) to protect customers from any misleading advertisement.
Furthermore, the PTA is cognizant of the issue regarding levying of different taxes and issues press releases/clarifications for the general public on tariff/tax-related matters from time to time.
Tags: Taxes on Cellular Mobile Services
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