1. Can I carry duty free mobile phones while travelling to Pakistan?
If you do not insert SIM of a Pakistan Mobile Company in your mobile set and continue using foreign SIM with roaming, then there is no issue of duty and taxes or registration of mobile set. However, if you insert SIM of a Pakistan Mobile Company, you will immediately get an SMS from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to get your phone registered within 60 days. The duty and taxes are fixed in Pak Rupee (PKR), depending on the value of mobile set. The lowest slab for mobile sets having value up to US dollar 30 is PKR 300 and highest slab for mobile sets having value above US dollar 500 is PKR 31,520. The process of registration and payment of duty taxes can be completed online on this link: https://dirbs.pta.gov.pk/
Important: You can only carry mobile sets for your personal use or gifts, if you carry mobile phones in commercial quantity the same shall be detained and confiscated by authorities at airport.
2. What are allowances available on Transfer of Residence?
Transfer of Residence means return of a Pakistan national from abroad after a period of 02 years or more, or shifting of a foreign national to Pakistan with the purpose of staying in Pakistan for 02 years or more. In order to avail allowances, the luggage/goods under this scheme must be shipped from the country where passenger has resided, must not be in commercial quantity and must reach Pakistan within 60 days of arrival of passenger in Pakistan. The husband and wife have option to club their allowances if they are travelling together. The allowances available under this scheme are given below:
i. Personal wearing apparel and clothing accessories;
ii. Personal adornments, toilet requisites and electric shaver in use;
iii. Medals, trophies and prizes bestowed upon a passenger;
iv. One electric iron and one hair dryer and one hair dresser;
v. Two hundred cigarettes or fifty cigars or half kilogram of manufactured tobacco;
vi. Pushcart, toys, and goods of personal use of the child passenger;
vii. One-wheel chair for personal use;
viii. One mobile phone; and
ix. One wrist watch
x. One radio or one ordinary tape recorder excluding hi-fi systems and home theatres;
xi. One VCP or VCR or VCD or DVD player or a similar appliance having more than one of the playing, recording or display functions;
xii. One still and one video camera;
xiii. Personal jewelry in reasonable quantity;
xiv. Professional tools of the value not exceeding five hundred US dollars;
xv. One desktop or laptop computer in personal use;
xvi. Old and used furniture, fixtures, crockery, cutlery, kitchen utensils, rugs, carpets, household linen, beddings including blankets and other household goods generally used by a family during stay abroad, excluding the items listed at S. No. xviii below;
xvii. One television set, one deep freezer, one refrigerator, one microwave oven, one cooking range, one washing machine and one air conditioner on payment of 50% of the total duty and taxes notified for these rules;
xviii. Professional tools and equipment of the value not exceeding five thousand US dollars;
xix. Second-hand or used medical equipment, including electro medical equipment if in use of a Pakistani national who is a registered medical practitioner recognized by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council;
xx. Weapon of non-prohibited bore for the personnel of armed forces, customs, police or any other law enforcement agency.
xxi. Duty free allowances of the aggregate value up to one thousand US dollars in case the goods are purchased from one of the duty free shops in Pakistan within sixty days of the arrival.
3. Can I carry, gift or send a vehicle to someone in Pakistan?
New vehicles can be imported by anyone in Pakistan on payment of duty and taxes under applicable rules and regulations.
Old and used cars, not older than 3 years and other vehicles not older than 5 years can be imported, gifted or brought to Pakistan by Pakistan nationals including dual nationals under three Schemes as explained below. However, students receiving remittance from Pakistan, non-earning members of family of a Pakistan national and persons who have gifted, received or imported a vehicle in immediate past two years do not qualify under these Schemes.
Transfer of Residence: A person residing abroad for a minimum of 700 days, in immediately preceding 3 years, may bring into Pakistan a vehicle under this scheme.
Gift Scheme: A person residing abroad for a minimum of 700 days, in immediately preceding 3 years, can gift a vehicle to his family members under this scheme.
Baggage Scheme: A person residing abroad for a minimum period of 180 days in immediately preceding 7 months can import a vehicle into Pakistan under this scheme.
Duty and taxes are fixed in US $ for Asian make vehicles in terms of engine capacity, which may be confirmed before availing any of the above schemes. For vehicles other than Asian make the duty and taxes are payable on value assessed by Pakistan Customs.
These fixed duties /taxes for Asian make vehicles and assessed duty/taxes for other vehicles are reduced @ 1% for every month of the age of vehicle to a maximum of 50%.
Important:
Please carefully calculate the age of old and used vehicles before availing any of the above schemes, as vehicles older than the age stated above are not importable under Import Policy Order of Pakistan and may be confiscated.
4. Are there any special allowances for Foreign Exchange Remittance Card Holders?
A Pakistan national holding Foreign Exchange Remittance Card is entitled to duty credit once in a calendar year as tabulated below. This credit can be utilized for all goods other than vehicles.
| S.No | Type of FERC | Amount Remitted through Normal Banking Channel | Duty Credit In Pakistani Rupees |
|---|---|---|---|
| (in USD or equivalent foreign currency) | |||
| 1. | SIlver | 2500 or more | 10,000 |
| 2. | Silver Plus | 5000 or more | 20,000 |
| 3. | Golden | 10,000 or more | 30,000 |
| 4. | Golden Plus | 25,000 or more | 50,000 |
| 5. | Platinum | 50,000 or more | 100,000 |
5. I am a businessman; can I travel to Pakistan without visa for business purpose?
A single entry, 30 days Business Visa on arrival is available for the nationals of the countries listed on this link https://visa.nadra.gov.pk/business-visa-list-bvl/. The intending businessmen are required to get an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) at least 48 hours prior to their arrival in Pakistan. This ETA can be applied online at this link https://visa.nadra.gov.pk/visa-on-arrival-business/. The documents required for ETA are a scanned copy of photograph and passport, recommendation letter from your home Chambers of Commerce and Industry or recommendation letter from Commercial Counselor or invitation letter from a business entity in Pakistan. The processing time of your ETA application is 48 to 72 hours.