ISLAMABAD – June 10, 2025:– In a significant move impacting Pakistan’s rapidly expanding e-commerce landscape, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced in his latest budget speech that online retail platforms will now be mandated to collect an 18% sales tax directly from sellers utilizing their services.
This new measure is designed to address the persistent challenges faced by traditional brick-and-mortar businesses and to foster a more equitable competitive environment within the retail sector. The government’s decision comes as online businesses and digital marketplaces continue their rapid growth trajectory, often outperforming conventional retailers in terms of both market penetration and revenue generation.
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The primary objective of this initiative is to ensure full adherence to existing tax laws and to mitigate unfair competition in the marketplace. Under the newly implemented policy, e-commerce platforms that provide sales and logiss services will bear the responsibility of collecting and subsequently remitting the sales tax on behalf of their registered sellers.
Authorities express optimism that this step will not only contribute to a significant boost in national tax revenues but also introduce enhanced transparency into the burgeoning digital economy.
