Pakistan’s finished smartphone imports surged 258.6% in FY2025–26, but the data reveals a more complex story: rising demand for premium devices, stronger tax compliance, and the limits of Pakistan’s local assembly ecosystem.
Introduction
Pakistan’s mobile-phone market is undergoing an important structural shift.
According to Pakistan Customs data, imports of Completely Built Unit (CBU) smartphones increased from approximately 0.29 million units in FY2024–25 to 1.04 million units in FY2025–26, representing a remarkable 258.6% increase. The rise amounts to roughly 750,000 additional finished smartphones entering the country during the fiscal year.
At first glance, the figure could suggest that Pakistan is becoming increasingly dependent on imported smartphones. However, the broader customs data tells a considerably more nuanced story.
Pakistan imported approximately 32 million mobile phones worth Rs.520 billion in FY2025–26, compared with around 33 million units worth Rs.427 billion a year earlier. Crucially, approximately Rs.420 billion—or four-fifths of the total import value—consisted of CKD and SKD kits used by registered local assemblers and manufacturers. Only around Rs.100 billion represented finished CBU devices.
The 258.6% increase, therefore, should not be interpreted as a collapse of Pakistan’s domestic mobile-phone assembly industry. Instead, it highlights a growing gap between what local manufacturers can produce and what a segment of Pakistani consumers increasingly wants to buy.
What the 258.6% Increase Actually Means
The distinction between CBU and CKD/SKD imports is central to understanding Pakistan’s smartphone market.
Completely Built Units (CBUs) are finished products imported into Pakistan ready for sale. In contrast, Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits contain components that are imported and subsequently assembled within Pakistan.
Pakistan Customs reported that CBU smartphone imports rose from approximately 290,000 units in FY2024–25 to 1.04 million units in FY2025–26.
Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of the country's total mobile-phone import value remained connected to local assembly.
This distinction is important because headlines suggesting that Pakistan imported Rs.520 billion worth of finished smartphones would provide a misleading picture of the market. Customs itself clarified that approximately four-fifths of the Rs.520 billion import bill represented CKD and SKD inputs for domestic production.
Pakistan’s Mobile Phone Import Picture
| Indicator | FY2024–25 | FY2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Total mobile phones imported | ~33 million | ~32 million |
| Total import value | ~Rs.427 billion | ~Rs.520 billion |
| CBU smartphone imports | ~0.29 million | ~1.04 million |
| CKD/SKD import value | — | ~Rs.420 billion |
| CBU import value | — | ~Rs.100 billion |
| Mobile-phone duties & taxes | ~Rs.89 billion | ~Rs.121 billion |
Source: Pakistan Customs, FY2025–26 data.
Apple and Google Pixel Drive Much of the Increase
One of the most revealing details in the customs data concerns the brands behind the increase.
Pakistan Customs said industry feedback indicated that approximately 60% to 70% of the growth in CBU smartphone imports consisted of new and used Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices.
Neither Apple nor Google Pixel phones are locally assembled in Pakistan.
This means the increase does not necessarily indicate that consumers are abandoning locally assembled smartphones. Rather, it reflects demand for products that are not currently available through Pakistan’s domestic assembly ecosystem.
The distinction matters.
A consumer seeking a premium iPhone or Google Pixel does not necessarily have an equivalent locally assembled alternative. Local assembly has expanded substantially, but it remains concentrated largely in affordable and mid-range segments.
Consequently, the premium segment continues to rely heavily on imports.
A Growing Premium Smartphone Market
The CBU surge also provides evidence of changing consumer preferences in Pakistan.
Smartphones have evolved from basic communication devices into sophisticated computing platforms. Premium consumers increasingly look for advanced cameras, high-performance processors, long software-support cycles, ecosystem integration, premium materials and specialized features.
Apple's iPhone and Google's Pixel line occupy precisely this part of the market.
For consumers willing and able to pay for these products, the absence of local production means that importing the device is effectively the only legitimate route.
This creates a structural divide within Pakistan's smartphone market:
Budget and mid-range consumers are increasingly served by locally assembled devices.
Premium consumers continue to rely heavily on imported CBUs.
Local assemblers remain dependent on imported components.
The government collects duties and taxes from both imported components and finished devices.
The resulting market is therefore not simply a competition between "local" and "foreign" phones. It is a layered ecosystem with different supply chains serving different consumer segments.
Why Official CBU Imports Are Increasing
Another important factor is the growing attractiveness of documented commercial imports.
Pakistan Customs reported that commercially imported iPhones can attract approximately Rs.150,000 in duties and taxes, compared with roughly Rs.190,000 when a device is imported and registered against a passport and nearly Rs.210,000 when registered against a CNIC, according to the authority's comparison.
This differential has created an incentive for more devices to enter through formal commercial channels.
At the same time, stronger enforcement against smuggling and misdeclaration, improvements in customs clearance and coordination with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have contributed to a shift toward documented trade, according to Pakistan Customs.
This is significant because an increase in recorded imports does not necessarily mean an equivalent increase in previously unmet consumption. Some of the growth may represent trade moving from informal or grey-market channels into the documented economy.
Government Revenue Is Rising
The fiscal implications are equally important.
Pakistan Customs reported that duties and taxes collected from mobile-phone imports increased from approximately Rs.89 billion in FY2024–25 to Rs.121 billion in FY2025–26, representing an increase of more than 36%.
Customs also said that duty collection on CBU smartphones more than doubled year-on-year.
From the government's perspective, this is a significant development.
A smartphone entering through a documented commercial channel generates customs and tax revenue. The same device entering through smuggling or other informal channels can generate little or no revenue while creating additional enforcement and consumer-protection challenges.
The growth of formal imports therefore has a potential fiscal advantage even when the products themselves are manufactured abroad.
But Higher Imports Also Mean Higher Foreign-Exchange Demand
The picture is not entirely positive.
Finished smartphones are ultimately paid for in foreign currency. While the government collects duties and taxes in Pakistani rupees, importers need foreign exchange to pay overseas suppliers.
A sustained increase in premium CBU imports can therefore increase demand for US dollars and place additional pressure on Pakistan's external account.
This creates a policy balancing act.
The government must simultaneously consider:
Consumer demand for internationally competitive products.
Customs and tax revenue.
Foreign-exchange requirements.
The development of domestic manufacturing.
Consumer protection and product quality.
The long-term competitiveness of Pakistan's technology industry.
A policy that focuses exclusively on restricting imports could push demand toward informal markets. A policy that completely ignores domestic manufacturing could leave Pakistan permanently dependent on imported technology.
The Used and Refurbished Smartphone Question
The role of used and refurbished smartphones adds another layer to the debate.
Pakistan Customs indicated that a substantial portion of the CBU growth involved new and used iPhones and Google Pixel devices.
Used premium smartphones can make advanced technology more accessible to consumers who cannot afford the latest flagship models.
However, the secondary market also creates challenges.
Consumers purchasing used devices need greater transparency about:
Battery health
Previous repairs
Device authenticity
IMEI status
Software integrity
Water or physical damage
Remaining product lifespan
Warranty availability
A stronger formal import market should therefore be accompanied by better consumer-protection standards and clearer disclosure requirements.
Pakistan’s Local Assembly Industry Is Not the Loser
The most important conclusion from the customs data is perhaps that the CBU boom does not mean Pakistan's local assembly industry is disappearing.
Quite the opposite.
Approximately Rs.420 billion of the Rs.520 billion mobile-phone import value in FY2025–26 represented CKD and SKD kits imported for domestic assembly.
This demonstrates that local assembly remains central to Pakistan's mobile-phone market.
The bigger question is what comes next.
Assembly is an important first step in developing an electronics industry, but it is not the same as building a complete domestic manufacturing ecosystem.
Pakistan's next challenge is to move beyond final assembly and gradually develop capabilities in areas such as:
Printed circuit boards
Batteries
Displays
Camera modules
Chargers and power electronics
Precision components
Testing and certification
Electronics design
Software and embedded systems
The deeper the domestic supply chain becomes, the greater the economic value retained within Pakistan.
From Assembly to Manufacturing
Pakistan's mobile-phone experience illustrates a broader industrial-policy challenge.
Import substitution can successfully reduce dependence on finished products without eliminating dependence on imported components.
This is precisely what the current smartphone data demonstrates.
Pakistan has developed the capacity to assemble large volumes of phones domestically, but many of the components required for those phones still originate abroad.
The next stage should therefore focus on creating an environment where global manufacturers have a reason to establish deeper production operations in Pakistan.
That requires more than tariff protection.
It requires:
Stable industrial policies
Reliable energy
Better logistics
Skilled technical workers
Competitive taxation
Strong intellectual-property protection
Easier business regulation
Access to foreign exchange
Export-oriented manufacturing incentives
Long-term policy consistency
Without these conditions, Pakistan risks remaining an assembly destination rather than becoming a genuine electronics-manufacturing hub.
Why Apple and Google Matter to the Debate
The presence of Apple and Google in Pakistan's CBU import statistics is particularly revealing.
These companies operate highly sophisticated global supply chains. Their production ecosystems depend on enormous economies of scale, specialized suppliers, advanced manufacturing capabilities and tightly integrated logistics networks.
Attracting such companies—or companies within their supply chains—would require Pakistan to offer more than a large consumer market.
It would need to demonstrate that the country can reliably support high-value manufacturing.
That is why the 1.04 million CBU smartphone figure should be viewed not simply as an import statistic, but as a signal of market opportunity.
Pakistan has millions of consumers who want premium technology.
The challenge is converting that consumer demand into an opportunity for investment, technology transfer, employment and exports.
The Real Policy Challenge
The debate should therefore move beyond a simple question:
Are smartphone imports good or bad for Pakistan?
The more useful question is:
How can Pakistan capture the economic value generated by its growing smartphone market while developing domestic technological capabilities?
Restricting premium smartphone imports could reduce legal trade but would not necessarily eliminate consumer demand.
Instead, it could encourage grey-market activity and smuggling.
Allowing unlimited dependence on imported finished devices, on the other hand, would do little to strengthen domestic manufacturing.
The more balanced approach is to maintain a regulated import market while simultaneously creating incentives for deeper domestic production.
In other words, Pakistan should not necessarily try to prevent consumers from buying global technology.
It should try to make Pakistan a better place to manufacture that technology.
What the 258.6% Surge Really Tells Us
The headline figure is dramatic, but the underlying story is more constructive and complicated.
The 258.6% increase in CBU smartphone imports to approximately 1.04 million units reflects several trends occurring simultaneously: rising demand for premium smartphones, the availability of products not assembled locally, stronger formalization of imports and increased government revenue.
At the same time, the broader mobile-phone industry remains strongly connected to domestic assembly, with approximately Rs.420 billion of the Rs.520 billion import value representing CKD and SKD inputs for local production.
The data therefore does not support a simplistic narrative that Pakistan is abandoning local manufacturing.
Instead, it shows that Pakistan has successfully built an assembly-oriented smartphone industry while reaching the limits of that model in the premium segment.
Conclusion
Pakistan's 258.6% increase in CBU smartphone imports during FY2025–26 is a valuable indicator of how rapidly the country's technology market is evolving.
Consumers increasingly want access to premium global devices, while local manufacturers have become increasingly capable of supplying affordable and mid-range smartphones through domestic assembly.
Both realities can exist at the same time.
The immediate fiscal impact is also significant. Mobile-phone duties and taxes rose to approximately Rs.121 billion during FY2025–26, while stronger formalization appears to have shifted part of the market away from undocumented channels.
But the long-term objective should go beyond collecting import duties.
Pakistan needs to use the momentum generated by its growing smartphone market to deepen its electronics ecosystem, attract investment, develop technical skills and move progressively from assembly toward higher-value manufacturing.
The 1.04 million CBU smartphones imported in FY2025–26 should therefore not simply be viewed as 1.04 million products entering Pakistan.
They should be viewed as 1.04 million signals of consumer demand—and a reminder of the industrial opportunity Pakistan has yet to fully capture.
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