Duty on mobiles serves as windfall for dealers

KARACHI - Mobile phone dealers and shopkeepers have started fleecing the consumers by charging additional amount ranging between Rs 500-700 on available stocks of mobile sets after the government imposed customs duty worth Rs500 on the import of mobile phones in the national budget, sources revealed to The Nation here on Thursday.

The dealers are charging extra amount on the sets on which they had not paid any duty thus minting millions just after one simple announcement in the budget. Bulk importers had predicted that the imposition of duty would encourage smuggling.