The government has introduced an online temporary phone registration system to facilitate overseas Pakistanis to use their mobile phones for four months while in Pakistan without payment of customs duties.

The period of using mobile phones without paying taxes has been extended to four months. Previously, all expats visiting Pakistan had to pay the tax on their mobile devices if their stay extended more than two months.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the online device registration facility in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the initiative will greatly benefit overseas Pakistanis who have always contributed to the development of Pakistan.

The system will enable overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals to avail this facility to use their personal phones while visiting Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet said that the overseas Pakistanis are “great ambassadors of the country who work hard day in & day out & make significant contributions for the motherland”.

“As part of efforts to facilitate our overseas Pakistanis, today I launched temporary registration system that will allow them to use their mobile phones for four months without any interruption,” he wrote on Twitter.

Head of Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi also announced the decision in a tweet, saying “Now overseas Pakistanis/Foriegn national visitors can use their own cell phones without any tax penalty for up to 120 days by registering with PTA”.

Overseas Pakistanis, students studying abroad, labour working abroad, and foreign nationals visiting Pakistan for tourism or business purposes can benefit from this facility.