Pakistan Telecommunication Authority or PTA is the body which regulates the usage, blocking & unblocking of mobile phones in Pakistan. If you are travelling from another country to Pakistan and you are planning to stay here in Pakistan for less than 60 days then there is no issue, you can buy a sim and use it on your mobile.
If you are planning to stay longer than 60 days or you are planning to buy a phone from another country and source it to Pakistan or you want to send it to your relative in Pakistan then before 60 days that person in Pakistan needs to pay the tax for that phone otherwise your phone will be blocked in Pakistan and you cannot use any sim here in Pakistan.
These phones are called Non-PTA phones. You have to deposit a one-time duty/tax to keep on using phones. Those non-registered phones can only be connected to a WiFi network but they can’t be used for calling or SMS because they will not be able to use SIM cards.
Non-PTA mobiles:
Can you Buy Non-Pta phones in Pakistan?
Yes, you can buy non-PTA mobiles in Pakistan online and offline. You can buy them on stores like Olx, Daraz Facebook marketplace etc.
Disadvantages of non-PTA-approved phones:
The main disadvantage of non-PTA mobile phones is that they don’t support a sim card. You can’t place any call or send a text to someone on their sims. You can use wifi and other functionality of the phone but the sim functionality will be disabled by PTA after 60 days if you haven’t paid the tax.
Price of Non-PTA mobiles:
Non-PTA mobiles are usually cheaper than PTA-approved versions. That is because tax is not paid for those phones. Non-PTA phones like Non-PTA iPhones are greatly loved by the gamer community because they only used these phones for gaming and they used secondary phones like androids for sim functionality.
Non-PTA mobile Working:
It is seen that the SCOM sim which is popular telecom & internet provider mostly in areas of Azad Kashmir works fine in non-PTA or blocked phones. But as it operates mostly in AJK the SCOM sim is not available freely to other parts of Pakistan.
Forex Trading in Pakistan – Complete Guide
How to Register Non-PTA mobiles:
Well applying for PTA approval is quite simple. You will need to first visit this link:
Or you can also dial *8484#. If you are using the link then create an account there. Add the IMEI of your phone and it will generate a slip for you through which you can pay the tax. You can use banking apps or digital wallets like Easypaisa and JazzCash to pay your tax.
Why people don’t pay PTA Tax:
Now you know to keep on using international phones or phones which are not manufactured in Pakistan you need to pay taxes. But paying tax is not a bad thing then why people don’t pay tax to unblock non-PTA phones? The main reason is that mostly the tax on some phones is much higher than their actual market values and it makes no sense to pay such a hefty tax on a phone who has less value than tax.
For example, the PTA Tax for the new iPhone 14 series is around 1,20,000 to 1,50,000 and this is not included in the iPhone price which you pay to buy the phone but this is the tax you need to pay to continue using the iPhone in Pakistan.
non pta sim working
It is seen that the SCOM sim which is popular telecom & internet provider mostly in areas of Azad Kashmir works fine in non-PTA or blocked phones. But as it operates mostly in AJK the SCOM sim is not available freely to other parts of Pakistan.
non pta mobile price in pakistan
non-pta mobiles are usually cheaper than PTA-approved mobile phones.
Resources:
How to pay tax for Non-PTA Mobile Phones. Watch this video.
Leave a Reply