Business documents in Pakistan

Companies are formed under the Companies Act, 2017, and most incorporations now run through the SECP’s LEAP portal, with some company types still routed to the older eZfile e-services. The applicant registers with a CNIC, NICOP or passport, reserves a name, selects the principal line of business, enters capital, registered address and the details of subscribers and directors, and reviews the memorandum and articles generated by the system. FBR details are mandatory in the application, and EOBI or provincial social security details can be added at the same stage.

The forms of business most often chosen are the private limited company, the single member company (SMC) for a sole founder, the public company and the limited liability partnership under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2017. Sole proprietors do not register with the SECP at all; they become visible to the state through NTN registration on FBR’s IRIS portal, while partnership firms register with the provincial Registrar of Firms.

After incorporation, a company files annual returns with the SECP, including Form A for companies with share capital, and Form 29 whenever directors or officers change. Banks expect a board resolution for account mandates and authorised signatories.

FBR treats individuals, associations of persons and companies as registered for income tax once they are e-enrolled on IRIS: an individual’s 13-digit CNIC serves as the NTN, while companies and AOPs receive a 7-digit NTN. Manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and others making taxable supplies of goods must also register for sales tax and receive a Sales Tax Registration Number (STRN) — the number buyers check before claiming input tax. The standard rate of federal sales tax on goods is 18%, with reduced, fixed or retail-price-based rates for goods in the schedules to the Act.

Services are a provincial subject. Providers register with the Punjab Revenue Authority under the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012, the Sindh Revenue Board under the Sindh Sales Tax on Services Act, 2011, or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan revenue authorities, while services in Islamabad Capital Territory fall to FBR. Rates and taxable services differ by province and change in provincial budgets, so a software house in Lahore and one in Karachi may charge different rates on identical work. Show the provincial registration number and tax separately, and split goods and installation services into separate lines.

Section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 requires a registered person making a taxable supply to issue a serially numbered tax invoice at the time of supply. Only one tax invoice may be issued per supply, only a registered person (or a person paying retail tax) may issue one, and FBR may prescribe how invoices are issued and authenticated, including electronically.

The integration rules in Chapter XIV of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006, rewritten by S.R.O. 69(I)/2025, require integrated persons to issue invoices through a system connected to FBR in real time. S.R.O. 709(I)/2025 then extended real-time electronic invoicing to corporate and non-corporate sales tax registered persons, and FBR staggered the deadlines through 2025 by category of taxpayer. Integration is done either through Pakistan Revenue Automation (Private) Limited (PRAL), which the rules allow to act as an integrator free of charge, or through a licensed integrator.

Integrated invoices carry fields beyond the basic section 23 list: an invoice reference number, HS code, unit of measurement and any sales tax withheld at source, and the buyer’s address and registration number became mandatory. Integrated persons must issue e-invoices for exempt supplies as well as taxable ones, display an “Integrated with FBR” signboard at each outlet or invoicing point, and upload invoices issued offline within 24 hours of connectivity being restored.

Large retailers designated as Tier-1 have been required to connect their point-of-sale systems to FBR for several years, and their receipts carry an FBR invoice number and QR code that customers can verify. The Finance Bill for 2026-27 continued this direction, proposing penalties for failing to integrate and linking input tax adjustment to digital invoicing compliance. Because the scope and deadlines have changed several times, confirm your category with FBR or your tax adviser before relying on any date.

A typical B2B cycle in Pakistan runs from a quotation to a purchase order, then a delivery challan (often called a gate pass when goods leave a factory) signed by the receiver, followed by the sales tax invoice and a payment receipt. Government departments and large corporates usually issue their own purchase orders and will only process an invoice that quotes the PO number, your NTN and STRN and matches the challan quantities.

When a sale is cancelled, goods are returned or the price changes after the invoice is issued, the Sales Tax Act provides for debit and credit notes so that both parties adjust their output and input tax. Proforma invoices are widely used to obtain advance payments and to open letters of credit; they have no tax effect and should not carry the words “sales tax invoice”.

Payments to suppliers are often subject to income tax withholding under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and in many cases to sales tax withholding as well. Suppliers should expect a withholding certificate or a payment voucher showing deductions, and reconcile it against their invoice before filing returns.

Pakistan’s standing orders laws — the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968 for Islamabad and Punjab, and provincial successors such as the Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2015 and laws in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — require employers in covered establishments to give workers written terms of employment, normally as an appointment letter. Under these laws probation is generally three months, and after confirmation either side ends employment with one month’s notice or a month’s wages in lieu.

A complete employee file usually contains the offer letter, appointment letter, CNIC copy, monthly salary slips showing gross pay, income tax withheld under section 149 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and social security deductions, and on departure an experience certificate and final settlement statement. Minimum wages are notified by each province and must be reflected in salary structures.

Under the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976, an establishment employing five or more persons must register with the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and pay monthly contributions, with the employer bearing the larger share and the employee a smaller share. Provincial employees’ social security institutions — such as PESSI in Punjab and SESSI in Sindh — run separate health and injury schemes with their own registration and contribution rules.

Commercial agreements are governed by the Contract Act, 1872. Most formal agreements, deeds and powers of attorney attract stamp duty under the Stamp Act, 1899 as amended by each province, and lawyers routinely print agreements on stamp paper of the required value. Punjab moved to e-stamping through a system developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board, with duty collected for the Board of Revenue, and e-stamp papers can be verified online.

Electronic signatures and records are given legal recognition by the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002, which means NDAs, service agreements and supply contracts can be signed electronically. Documents involving immovable property, and anything that must be registered with a sub-registrar, still follow traditional execution and registration rules.

Affidavits and undertakings for banks and government bodies are usually attested by an oath commissioner or notary. Check with a Pakistani lawyer before relying on electronic execution for any unusual or high-value document.

Pakistan Customs, part of FBR, runs WeBOC as its core customs management system. The Pakistan Single Window, established under the Pakistan Single Window Act, 2021, sits on top of it and connects traders with licensing bodies, banks and port authorities. Traders file the Goods Declaration (GD) for imports, exports and transit, and where any regulatory requirement applies, a Single Declaration on PSW is mandatory; licences, permits and certificates (LPCOs) are applied for through PSW as well.

Customs clearance depends on a consistent set of documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, certificate of origin where preferential duty is claimed, and any LPCO required for the goods. Description, HS code, quantity and value must match across all of them, because WeBOC risk management flags discrepancies for examination.

Export proceeds and import payments are handled through banks connected to PSW, so the invoice value, currency and payment terms on your commercial invoice and proforma should match what you declare to your bank. Certificates of origin for most destinations are issued by chambers of commerce, and preferential certificates by the authority designated for the relevant trade agreement.

FBR requires sales tax registered persons to keep records of sales, purchases and imports, payment receipts and electronic returns with supporting documents for six years after the end of the tax period to which they relate, and to produce them on demand; late production attracts a penalty. Integrated persons must also retain online debit and credit notes and marketplace e-invoices for six years. Income tax records and company books of account under the Companies Act, 2017 have their own retention periods, so keep everything for at least the longest applicable period.

English is the language of commercial documents, contracts and tax invoices in practice, while Urdu is commonly used on notices to workers and consumer-facing documents. Domestic invoices are issued in rupees; export invoices are usually in US dollars or the buyer’s currency, and FBR returns are filed in rupees using the applicable exchange rate.