Lawmakers Propose Mandatory Registration for Online Businesses

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Monday discussed new proposals to regulate Pakistan’s e-commerce sector. Today, the focus was on mandatory registration for high-earning online sellers. Senator Anusha Rehman suggested that online platforms earning Rs. 20 million or more annually should be required to register with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). She said the unemployed and small home-based sellers are earning a living through e-commerce and shouldn’t be burdened with heavy taxes. However, once a platform reaches a certain business threshold, registration should be mandatory, she added. The senator emphasized that such a measure would help improve the tax net without hurting freelancers. Committee members agreed that the registration requirement should be tied to business volume and not applied universally to small sellers or startup platforms. The proposal will be further refined and potentially included in future amendments to the Finance Bill 2025. The committee is also considering mechanisms to simplify compliance for small digital sellers.