Sales Tax Withholding

Who withholds sales tax and how much, for federal sales tax and for each province.

Tax Year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027)

How to read this page

A withholding agent is a buyer who must keep back part of the sales tax and pay it to the tax authority. The supplier is paid the rest.
The share withheld depends on the buyer, the supplier and the service. Rules differ by province.
Choose a province to see its agents, amounts and exclusions, or view all provinces side by side.

Province or jurisdiction

All provinces

Sales tax withholding, comparison by province
	Federal and ICT	Punjab	Sindh	KP	Balochistan
Registered provider	One fifth of the tax (government and companies)	The whole tax; 20% or 80% between companies	One fifth	50%; 100% in the cases listed	One fifth
Provider not registered	The whole tax (government); 5% of gross value (companies)	The whole tax	The whole tax	100%	The whole tax
Advertisement	The whole tax	The whole tax	The whole tax	100%	The whole tax
Not covered	Electricity, gas, telecom, Third Schedule goods and others	Telecom, banking, courier, insurance	Telecom, banks, financial institutions, ports and airports	Telecom, banking and courier	Telecom, banking, insurance, ports and airports
Deposit	By the 15th of the following month	By the 15th for government; PST-04 for others	By the 15th of the second month after the invoice, or on payment	By the 15th of the following month	Against a payment slip; intimation by the 15th

Federal and ICT

Registered provider: One fifth of the tax (government and companies)
Provider not registered: The whole tax (government); 5% of gross value (companies)
Advertisement: The whole tax
Not covered: Electricity, gas, telecom, Third Schedule goods and others
Deposit: By the 15th of the following month

Punjab

Registered provider: The whole tax; 20% or 80% between companies
Provider not registered: The whole tax
Advertisement: The whole tax
Not covered: Telecom, banking, courier, insurance
Deposit: By the 15th for government; PST-04 for others

Sindh

Registered provider: One fifth
Provider not registered: The whole tax
Advertisement: The whole tax
Not covered: Telecom, banks, financial institutions, ports and airports
Deposit: By the 15th of the second month after the invoice, or on payment

Registered provider: 50%; 100% in the cases listed
Provider not registered: 100%
Advertisement: 100%
Not covered: Telecom, banking and courier
Deposit: By the 15th of the following month

Balochistan

Registered provider: One fifth
Provider not registered: The whole tax
Advertisement: The whole tax
Not covered: Telecom, banking, insurance, ports and airports
Deposit: Against a payment slip; intimation by the 15th

Federal (goods and ICT services)

Under section 3(7) of the Sales Tax Act, the buyer withholds part of the sales tax when it is a withholding agent listed in the Eleventh Schedule. Services taxed by a province are not covered by the federal rules.

Withholding agents

Federal and provincial government departments, autonomous bodies and public sector organisations
Companies
From this year, associations of persons and individuals (for supplies from persons who are not active taxpayers)
Registered persons who receive advertisement services or buy cane molasses
Registered lead battery manufacturers, cement manufacturers and other registered buyers of the goods listed below
Payment intermediaries and couriers for digitally ordered goods
Registered persons engaged in toll manufacturing

Eleventh Schedule

Federal (goods and ICT services) withholding
Withholding agent	Supplier	Amount withheld
Government departments, autonomous bodies, public sector organisations; companies	Active taxpayers	One fifth of the sales tax on the invoice
Same agents	Active taxpayers registered as wholesalers, dealers or distributors	One tenth of the sales tax on the invoice
Government departments, autonomous bodies, public sector organisations	Persons who are not active taxpayers	The whole tax
Companies, associations of persons and individuals (except companies exporting surgical instruments)	Persons who are not active taxpayers	5% of the gross value of supplies
Registered persons receiving advertisement services	Advertisement service providers	The whole sales tax
Registered persons buying cane molasses	Persons who are not active taxpayers	The whole sales tax
Registered lead battery manufacturers	Suppliers of lead or scrap batteries	80% of the sales tax
Payment intermediaries and couriers	Suppliers of digitally ordered goods through an online marketplace, website or app	2% of gross value of supplies
Registered cement manufacturers	Suppliers of gypsum or limestone flux	80% of the sales tax
Registered persons	Suppliers of coal	80% of the sales tax
Registered persons	Suppliers of waste paper and paperboard	80% of the sales tax
Registered persons	Suppliers of plastic waste	80% of the sales tax
Registered persons	Suppliers of crush stone and silica	80% of the sales tax
Registered persons engaged in toll manufacturing	Persons who are not registered	Four times the tax charged on conversion charges

Not covered

Electricity
Natural gas
Petroleum products supplied by exploration and production companies, refineries, oil marketing companies and petrol and diesel dealers
Vegetable ghee and cooking oil
Telecom services
Third Schedule goods
Supplies by importers who paid value addition tax at import
Supplies by an active taxpayer to another registered person, except supplies of advertisement services, lead batteries, gypsum, coal, waste paper, plastic waste, and crush stone and silica
Sand, stone, gravel, crush and clay supplied to low-cost housing schemes of NPHDA

How it works

The agent states in its tender or notice that sales tax will be withheld.
Example: value Rs 1,000, tax Rs 170. One fifth is Rs 34. The supplier is paid Rs 1,136. The agent cannot claim the withheld tax as input tax.
If tax is not shown on an advertisement invoice, the agent deducts it at the applicable rate on the value.
Government agents credit the tax through the accounting office and intimate the Commissioner by the 15th of the following month. The DDO files the return by the 15th.
Other agents who are not registered deposit by the 15th of the month after the purchase. Registered agents deposit with their monthly return.
The agent issues a certificate to the supplier. The supplier claims credit for the withheld tax in its monthly return.
For digitally ordered goods, the tax withheld at 2% is the final discharge for cottage industry and for retailers other than Tier-1.

Punjab

Under the Punjab withholding rules, the buyer of a taxable service withholds sales tax in the cases below. The rules apply to buyers who are resident or have a place of business in Punjab.

Withholding agents

Federal, provincial and local governments, their departments and public projects
Autonomous bodies, public sector organisations, government owned enterprises and regulators
Bodies funded from federal or Punjab budget grants
Recipients of advertisement services who are registered for sales tax on goods or for Punjab sales tax
Companies resident in or with a place of business in Punjab
Registered persons receiving taxable services from persons who are not registered
Government accounting offices

Amount withheld

Punjab withholding
Case	Amount withheld
Registered service provider	The whole tax shown on the invoice. The balance is paid to the provider.
Company buying from an active taxpayer company (services other than advertisement)	20% of the tax. Telecom, banking and insurance companies withhold 80%.
Service provider who is not registered	Tax at the applicable rate on the gross value. The agent keeps the provider's CNIC or NTN.
Advertisement services	The whole tax on the invoice, from providers in Pakistan or abroad. If tax is not shown, it is worked out on the gross value. The recipient gets no credit for tax withheld on advertisements.

Not covered

Telecommunication, banking, courier and insurance services
Insurance provided from outside Punjab for risks located in Punjab is not excluded

How it works

Government bodies deposit through the accounting office by the 15th of the following month and file Form A.
Other agents deposit on form PST-04. The due date depends on whether the agent is registered, and on the date of payment or invoice.
Banks, payment services and food delivery platforms collect the tax on card and digital payments for some services, and deposit it by the 10th of the following month.

Sindh

The Sindh Revenue Board requires specified buyers to withhold sales tax on services under the Special Procedure (Withholding) Rules, 2014.

Withholding agents

Federal, provincial and local government offices
Autonomous bodies, state owned enterprises, regulators and authorities
Budget funded organisations
Companies
Registered recipients of advertisement, renting of immovable property, auctioneers, inter-city transport and similar specified services
Registered persons buying from unregistered or inactive providers, or from insurance agents or brokers
Users of cab aggregators and recipients of reduced rate construction services

Amount withheld

Sindh withholding
Case	Amount withheld
Registered service provider	One fifth of the sales tax on the invoice. If no tax is shown, it is worked out on the gross value.
Unregistered or inactive service provider	The whole tax, worked out on the gross value.
Specified services (advertisement, renting of immovable property, auctioneers, inter-city transport, advertising agents) and non-resident providers	The whole tax.

Not covered

Telecom services
Banking companies and financial institutions
Life and health insurance for individuals (reinsurance is not excluded)
Port, airport and terminal operators
Airport ground handling

How it works

An agent that claims input tax deposits by the return due date for the month of the claim, or on payment if that is earlier.
An agent that does not claim input tax deposits on payment, or within 4 months of the invoice if that is earlier.
Other agents deposit by the 15th of the second month after the invoice, or on payment if that is earlier.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The KP withholding regulation applies to buyers wherever their head office is. The share withheld depends on the kind of service and the kind of provider.

Withholding agents

Federal, defence, provincial and district departments and accounting offices
Public sector organisations, universities, authorities and state owned enterprises paying directly
Companies, including companies registered with other tax authorities
Persons in the construction of dams, hydropower, land and property, and commercial buildings
Others notified by the Management Committee

Amount withheld

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa withholding
Case	Amount withheld
All advertisement services	100% of the tax
Service providers who are not registered, or are inactive on the active taxpayers list	100% of the tax
All services to federal or provincial government and public sector bodies	100% of the tax, whatever the rate
Providers from outside the province who are not registered with the KP authority (including those registered in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan or ICT)	100% of the tax
Services taxed at a reduced rate (below 15%), including fixed rates. This includes accounting and audit services.	100% of the tax
All other cases	50% of the tax

Not covered

Telecom services
Banking and courier services (except supplies between such companies)
Others notified

How it works

Deposit by the 15th of the following month, or on payment if that is earlier.
Government statements by the 20th of the following month. Other agents file their statement by the 18th.
Input tax adjustment is allowed only to regular payers at 15% or more, and not on reduced rate, unregistered or inactive purchases. The provider's credit is available only after the agent has deposited the tax.

Balochistan

Under the Balochistan withholding rules, buyers in Balochistan withhold sales tax on services in the cases below.

Withholding agents

Government offices and public projects
Autonomous bodies, public sector organisations, state owned enterprises and regulators
Budget funded organisations
Companies
Registered recipients of advertisement, inter-city goods transport, advertising agents, renting of immovable property, consultants and auctioneers
Registered persons receiving services from persons who are not registered

Amount withheld

Balochistan withholding
Case	Amount withheld
Registered service provider	One fifth of the tax on the invoice
Service provider who is not registered	The whole tax, worked out on the gross value. The agent keeps the provider's CNIC or NTN.
Specified services (advertisement, inter-city goods transport, advertising agents, renting of immovable property, consultants, auctioneers), including from non-residents	The whole tax

Not covered

Telecom services
Banking and insurance (not reinsurance)
Financial institutions
Port, airport and terminal operators
Airport ground services

How it works

Government bodies deposit through the accounting office and intimate by the 15th of the following month. The DDO return is due by the 18th.
Other agents deposit against a payment slip.
A registered agent deducts the whole tax under reverse charge from a provider outside the province.

Islamabad (ICT)

Services in the Islamabad Capital Territory follow the federal withholding rules (Eleventh Schedule). The same agents, rates and exclusions apply as in the federal table, and the federal deposit dates apply.

Withholding agents

The agents listed in the Eleventh Schedule (see the federal table)

Same as the federal Eleventh Schedule

Islamabad (ICT) withholding
Case	Amount withheld
Government and public sector agents and companies, supplier is an active taxpayer	One fifth of the sales tax on the invoice
Government and public sector agents, supplier is not an active taxpayer	The whole tax
Companies, supplier is not an active taxpayer	5% of the gross value
Advertisement services	The whole sales tax

Not covered

Services liable to sales tax under a provincial law are not covered
Telecom services
Supplies by an active taxpayer to another registered person, except the listed cases

How it works

Deposit and returns follow the federal procedure.

For general information only. Not professional advice. Please contact us for your specific situation.