Sales Tax Registration in Pakistan

Sales tax registration in Pakistan is two systems wearing one name. Which one applies to you depends on whether you sell goods or services, and a business that does both can end up dealing with both. This page sets out what each registration involves, what you need to have ready, and what we charge for it.

Federal or provincial: establish this first

Sales tax on goods is administered federally by the Federal Board of Revenue, and registration and returns are handled through IRIS, the FBR portal. This is the registration most people mean when they say GST.

Sales tax on services is provincial. In Punjab it is administered by the Punjab Revenue Authority, and the other provinces and Islamabad each have their own authority and their own registration. A consultancy in Lahore and a trading company in Lahore are therefore not registering with the same body, which is the point at which most of the confusion starts.

Getting this wrong wastes weeks. It is worth ten minutes to establish which applies before any form is filled in.

What we handle, and what it costs

These are the sales tax services we publish on our services and fees page, brought together here because they are easier to compare side by side.

What this page deliberately does not tell you

It does not give you a rate, a threshold, or the turnover at which registration becomes compulsory. Those are set by law, they differ between the federal and provincial systems, and they change. A figure printed here would be out of date without anyone noticing, and on a tax page that is worse than no figure at all. Check the current position with the FBR or your provincial authority, or ask us and we will confirm it against your circumstances.

Common questions

Is sales tax registration federal or provincial?

It depends on what you sell. Sales tax on goods is administered federally by the Federal Board of Revenue. Sales tax on services is administered by the province you operate in, which in Punjab is the Punjab Revenue Authority. A business that sells both can find itself dealing with both, which is the single most common surprise.

Do I need to be registered for income tax first?

In practice registration with the FBR and a National Tax Number come first, because the sales tax registration is made against that identity. If you have not done that yet, our guide to NTN registration covers what is involved.

How do I know whether I am required to register at all?

That depends on your activity, your turnover and which authority your sales fall under, and the rules change. We deliberately do not print thresholds here because a stale figure is worse than none. Check the current position with the FBR or your provincial authority, or send us your situation and we will confirm it.

Are the fees on this page the final cost?

They are the fees published on our services page for each item, and they are reproduced here unchanged. Where a fee depends on turnover or the nature of the business, that is stated against the service. Government and authority fees, where they apply, are separate. If a case is more involved than the standard description, we say so before starting rather than afterwards.

This page is general information, not tax advice. Rates, thresholds, registration requirements and procedures are set by law and change. Confirm the current position with the relevant authority, or with us, before acting. Fees shown are Esperta's own published service fees and exclude any government or authority charges.