ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has introduced new measures to expedite sales tax registration for low-risk businesses, aiming to reduce processing times and improve transparency, officials said.
Under Sales Tax General Order No. 20 of 2026, applications submitted through the IRIS online portal will be subject to risk-based screening. Applicants deemed low-risk will be processed within three working days, provided all required documents are complete, according to the FBR.
The board directed field offices not to request additional documents unless legally required, necessary for verification or flagged by the automated risk system.
To assist manufacturers, the FBR said it would work with sectoral associations under the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry to issue pre-registration certificates to members. The certificates will confirm that the applicant is engaged in manufacturing, that the business premises are identifiable and that the information matches association records. The certificates will be sent electronically to local registration offices along with other required documents.
The FBR clarified that the certificates are intended solely to speed up verification and do not replace legal requirements or confer any exemptions. Associations could be held liable if false information is discovered during physical inspections, the board said. Local registration offices must conduct on-site verification of manufacturers within three working days.
Applications flagged as high-risk will continue to face stricter scrutiny, including pre- and post-verification, the FBR said. Even low-risk registrations may be rechecked later if irregularities are detected.
Under the new step-by-step procedure, all IRIS applications will be screened by the risk-based system. If an application is incomplete, the applicant must be notified within seven days with specific details on missing information, required corrections and the time allowed to address deficiencies, the order states. The FBR instructed officials to avoid vague or general objections and said applications should proceed once missing information is provided without requiring applicants to restart the process.
