Islamabad, July 6, 2025: Online shopping sites such as Temu and AliExpress, known for offering budget-friendly products have increased their prices in Pakistan after the newly approved budget.
Pakistani internet users have recently noticed that prices on these platforms have jumped drastically, with many products becoming three to four times expensive than before.
However, this three to four times increase in prices isn’t solely because of the newly imposed taxes.
Here’s what the actual reason is, the government of Pakistan has enforced the Digital Presence Proceeds Tax Act, under which a 5 percent tax has been applied on products sold in Pakistan by foreign sellers.
READ MORE: AliExpress Rival Temu Arrives in Pakistan
In addition to this tax, these e-commerce sites or online stores will also be required to pay an 18 percent general sales tax, just as local businesses in Pakistan are obligated to do.
To explain it clearly, a local producer in Pakistan pays 18 percent sales tax along with 35 percent income tax on selling a product. In contrast, overseas platforms like Temu and AliExpress were previously selling products in Pakistan without paying any taxes, which is now going to change.
READ MORE: Pakistanis Spend $1B Annually on Online Shopping
However, the newly imposed taxes in the budget cannot possibly cause a 300 percent jump in prices of products listed on platforms like Temu. It is more likely that Temu has intentionally raised the prices in advance to safeguard itself against any unclear taxes or extra charges.
There is also a chance that prices may reduce in the upcoming weeks once there is proper clarity regarding these tax regulations.
