Pakistan VAT Rates 2026
Pakistan (پاکستان (Pākistān)) levies Value Added Tax as Sales Tax (GST). The standard rate is 18%, applied to most goods and services. Pakistan applies a single flat rate with no reduced rates.
Pakistan has no public registry we can query in real time, so a number cannot be confirmed as active from outside. The TaxID VAT number checker still checks it against the national format, which catches transcription errors before they reach your accounting system.
Current rates — 2026
| Type | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 18% | Most goods and services |
| Zero-rated | 0% | Exports (under the Export Facilitation Scheme) |
Registration and filing
| Registration threshold | Manufacturers and importers register regardless of size; retailer thresholds set by annual finance acts |
| Tax authority | Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) |
| Filing frequency | Monthly returns through the IRIS portal |
Access rates via API
The TaxID API returns current VAT and GST rates for 200+ countries and territories. Use the /api/v1/rates/PK endpoint to get Pakistan data programmatically. Responses are cached for 24 hours.
curl https://www.taxid.dev/api/v1/rates/PK
# No authentication required for rate lookups
# Response:
# { "country_code": "PK", "tax_type": "vat",
# "standard_rate": 18, "reduced_rates": [],
# "currency": "PKR", "last_updated": "2026-06-12" }Fetching the rate in code
// Fetch current Pakistan VAT rates (no auth required)
const rates = await fetch('https://www.taxid.dev/api/v1/rates/PK').then(r => r.json());
// → { standard_rate: 18, reduced_rates: [],
// currency: 'PKR' }
applyRate(rates.standard_rate);About Pakistan VAT
Pakistan's "sales tax" is a VAT in mechanics but split by constitution: the federal FBR taxes goods at 18%, while each province levies its own sales tax on services (13%–16%), so a national supplier may file five-plus returns a month. Export sectors lost their cherished zero-rating on domestic sales in 2019, a recurring battleground in IMF negotiations. Higher "further tax" surcharges punish sales to unregistered buyers, a stick to drag the informal economy into registration.
VAT in Pakistan is administered by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · Federal Board of Revenue (accessed Jun 2026)
Rate history
- 2023Standard rate raised from 17% to 18% in the mini-budget
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in Pakistan in 2026?
18% federal sales tax on goods; services are taxed separately by provinces at roughly 13%–16%.
Is Pakistan's sales tax a VAT?
Functionally yes for goods — it is credit-invoice based — but services taxation is fragmented across four provincial authorities plus the federal capital.
Related concepts and guides: