Registering your brand in Pakistan means trademark registration with the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO-Pakistan), not SECP or FBR – a common point of confusion since it’s a completely different regulator from the one handling company incorporation. If you have a business name, logo, or slogan you want legal protection for, trademark registration is the actual … Read more
A sole proprietorship in Pakistan doesn’t actually require registration with SECP the way a company does — it’s an unincorporated business where you and the business are the same legal entity. What you do need is NTN registration with FBR, and sometimes sales tax registration, depending on what you’re selling and to whom. What a … Read more
Form 45 is the SECP filing companies submit to report their annual accounts and financial statements — essentially the mechanism through which a company’s audited (or unaudited, for smaller companies) financial position gets placed on official record with the regulator, separate from the tax filing you do with FBR. What Form 45 Covers Form 45 … Read more
If you’re a salaried individual in Pakistan trying to estimate your income tax for the current year, the numbers changed under the Finance Act 2025 — confirmed on the FBR Withholding Tax Rate Card — most notably, the 9% surcharge that used to apply to salaried individuals with high income has been withdrawn entirely. If … Read more
Every FBR income tax return filing question starts the same way: “what documents do I actually need?” Here’s the real list, organized by taxpayer type, based on what we ask clients for before we start a filing. For Salaried Individuals CNIC and NTN (if you don’t have an NTN yet, registration happens as part of … Read more
Prize bond winnings are taxable income in Pakistan — a common misconception is that the “prize” is somehow separate from ordinary tax obligations. It isn’t. How Prize Bond Winnings Are Taxed Winnings are subject to withholding tax at the time of encashment, deducted by the bank or National Savings Centre before you receive the balance. … Read more
Section 236C of the Income Tax Ordinance is the advance tax collected on the sale or transfer of immovable property in Pakistan — deducted by the registering or transferring authority at the time of transfer, not something you separately calculate and pay yourself. If you’re selling property, this is a cost you need to budget … Read more
Withholding tax is Pakistan’s mechanism for collecting tax at the source of a payment — whoever pays you (an employer, a bank, a telecom company, a property buyer) deducts a percentage before you receive the money and remits it directly to FBR. It covers dozens of transaction types, and the rates get revised almost every … Read more
Withholding tax on cash withdrawal is one of the most common ways non-filers actually feel the cost of not being on the Active Taxpayer List — every large cash withdrawal from a bank triggers a deduction, and it’s noticeably higher if you’re not a filer. How It Works Banks deduct advance tax under Section 231A … Read more
Registering a small business in Pakistan is simpler than most people expect, once you actually understand which of the several available paths applies to you. Step 1: Decide Your Business Structure Most small businesses start as a sole proprietorship — no SECP incorporation needed, just an NTN registration under your own CNIC. If you’re bringing … Read more
