Sales tax
Tax on Selling Online in Pakistan
Section 6A taxes payments for digitally ordered goods and services delivered from within Pakistan: 1% collected by the payment intermediary where you are paid digitally, and 2% collected by the courier on cash on delivery. It is charged on gross receipts, not profit. Export proceeds already withheld under sections 154 or 154A are expressly outside it.
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Where these figures come from
- Statutory basis
- Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, as amended by the Finance Act 2026, for tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027).
- Last checked against the statute
- by BarrioVibe, which files income tax returns through FBR IRIS.
These figures are an estimate computed from the rates above, not tax advice for your situation. Your return depends on facts a form cannot see, so treat the number as a starting point and speak to us before you file on it.
What is collected, and by whom
Division IVA of Part I. The charge is on the person receiving payment, but it is collected by whoever handles the money on the way to you.
| How you are paid | Rate | Who collects it |
|---|---|---|
| Digital means or banking channels | 1% of gross | The payment intermediary |
| Cash on delivery | 2% of gross | The courier service |
What "digitally ordered" actually covers
Section 6A reaches payment for supply of digitally ordered goods or services delivered from within Pakistan using locally operated online platforms, including an online marketplace or a website. The delivery has to be from within Pakistan, and the platform has to be locally operated.
Section 2(38B) defines an online marketplace as an information technology platform run by an e-commerce entity over an electronic network that acts as a facilitator between a buyer and a seller, and includes online interfaces facilitating direct interaction between multiple buyers and sellers for a fee, with or without the platform taking economic ownership of what is sold. Your own website selling your own goods is inside the section; so is a marketplace listing.
How this sits with everything else you owe
Section 6A is an income tax charge collected at the point of payment. It does not replace sales tax on the supply, which is a separate regime with its own registration, its own return and its own rate, and it does not replace your income tax return.
Where the section 6A tax is final, it settles the income tax on those receipts and nothing more. Where turnover exceeds Rs 200 million, or where you opt out below that, it becomes adjustable and credits against your computed liability in the ordinary way.
What the profit would be taxed at instead
The comparison that decides whether opting out of final tax is worth it. Enter the business income the sales actually produce, and weigh the result against one or two per cent of gross turnover.
Business & AOP TaxQuestions
The questionspeople ask
What is the tax on online sales in Pakistan?
Section 6A charges 1% of gross where payment comes through digital means or banking channels, collected by the payment intermediary, and 2% where the buyer pays cash on delivery, collected by the courier. It applies to digitally ordered goods and services delivered from within Pakistan through locally operated platforms.
Does the e-commerce tax apply to IT exporters?
No. The proviso to section 6A(1) excludes export proceeds subjected to withholding under sections 154 or 154A, so a PSEB-registered exporter withheld at 0.25% is outside the section and the charges do not stack.
Is the 1% e-commerce tax final or adjustable?
Final by default below Rs 200 million of turnover, and adjustable above it under section 6A(3). A person with turnover up to Rs 200 million may opt out of the final tax regime when filing the return for tax year 2027 and onwards, which matters greatly on a low margin.
Was the e-commerce tax in Pakistan cancelled?
What was suspended was the Digital Presence Proceeds Tax on foreign digital providers. The domestic obligations, section 6A and the sales tax registration requirement for online sellers, were not suspended and are in force.
Do I need sales tax registration to sell on a marketplace?
Sections 14(1A) and 14(1B) of the Sales Tax Act require registration for selling digitally ordered goods from within Pakistan, and require marketplaces and couriers not to let anyone use their services unless the person holds an NTN and, where applicable, sales tax registration. The platform enforces it.
Is tax charged on my profit or my sales?
On gross receipts. Section 6A(2) applies the rate to the gross amount, so the cost of the goods does not enter it. That is what makes the final-tax default expensive on a thin margin and the opt-out worth considering.
Does section 6A apply to my own website, or only to marketplaces?
Both. The section covers digitally ordered goods or services delivered from within Pakistan using locally operated online platforms including an online marketplace or websites, so selling your own goods through your own site is inside it.
Does section 6A replace sales tax?
No. It is an income tax charge collected when you are paid. Sales tax on the supply is a separate regime with its own registration, return and rate.
Also here
Relatedguides
Sales tax registration
The turnover threshold that does not exist, the federal and provincial split that decides where you register, and the biometric deadline that removes you from the list.
Freelancer tax
Which rate applies to your export receipts, why domestic clients usually withhold nothing, and the provincial question that catches people in KPK.
Rather have someone handle it?
We file returns through IRIS every day. If the answer above raises a question about your own case, that is the conversation to have before the deadline rather than after it.