The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has released the ‘Type Approval Technical Standards Regulations 2021,’ which permits the import of only five mobile devices in a calendar year by a person for personal use.
Foreign missions, including high commissioners and embassies, will submit Certificate of Compliance (COC) requests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the import of communications equipment. However, after submitting the relevant documents/samples/fee to PTA, they will need to apply for type clearance for terminal equipment.
Moreover, only GSMA-issued Type Allocation Code (TAC) will be included in IMEI for devices, excluding those blacklisted by the PTA.
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Mobile devices that have been duplicated, cloned, stolen, or counterfeited will not be accepted by the PTA for the issuing of a COC. It also has the authority to revoke or suspend a COC given if the product being imported or sold contains manufacturing flaws, poses a health or safety risk, or fails to meet the standards indicated at the time of the COC’s issuance.
All type approval holders and persons importing PTA type approved terminal equipment and mobile devices for sale and marketing in Pakistan must ensure that they will maintain a customer service or after-sales mechanism for the convenience of their customers, and obtain the COC for parts imported for after-sales provision through the Type Approval Technical Standards Regulations.
A type approval holder for devices operating in the VHF frequency ranges will verify that the equipment is sold only to PTA licence holders and that the devices are configured exclusively inside the designated frequency band as per license agreement.
A monthly report detailing the sale of such devices, as well as the end-user and PTA licence information, will be submitted to the PTA. Type approval will be provided for devices operating in the HF and UHF frequencies bands, pursuant to the provisions of the PTA issued licence, and the devices will be programmed within the assigned frequencies band and output power as per the license’s restrictions.
A Pakistan Maritime Security Agency authorization and a PTA-issued licence are required for equipment with maritime functionality.
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If the applicant is a foreign entity, they must provide the following documents as part of their type approval process from their home country:
- company registration;
- authorization from the board of directors to apply for PTA type-approval;
- shareholder details of the board of directors of the manufacturer of the devices.
All terminal equipment with wireless functionality must operate in a non-interfering manner within the PTA/FAB’s permitted frequency range.
The PTA may issue duplicate type approval certificates, subject to:
- The provision of request on a type approval holder company letterhead;
- The provision of an undertaking stating the reasons for the requirement of duplicate certificates;
- The deposit of the prescribed processing fee;
- A copy of the intimation to the PTA of the lost/misplaced original certificate;
- A copy of the already issued type approval certificate.
