ISLAMABAD: The federal government is all set to remove the ban on the import of cell phones, reportedly.

According to sources close to the situation, a notification in this regard is expected to be issued this week.

On May 19, the Ministry of Commerce banned the import of 38 items, including mobile phones, to control a bulging import bill and support the appreciation of the local currency. The commerce ministry issued SRO 598 to amend the Import Policy Order. It specified 800 Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) headings of banned items in 33 categories.

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However, the Ministry of Industries and Production, the Cabinet Secretariat, and Customs have suggested that the ban on cell phone imports be removed because it generates millions of rupees in taxes.

According to statistics, the country imported 940,000 mobile phone sets during the first five months of this year. Over 10.2 million mobile phone sets were imported into the country in the previous year.