Steel producers across Pakistan must install and activate a digital monitoring system by December 30, 2026, according to a directive from the Federal Board of Revenue.
Sales Tax General Order No. 29 of 2026, released on Wednesday, covers registered composite manufacturing units, re-rollers, and steel melters nationwide.
This technology lets the agency observe manufacturing output, log shipments, and spot gaps between projected output and the real weight of items leaving plants.
The updated regulations dictate that tracking will cover multiple phases, such as counting ingots and billets, checking item dimensions, sorting finished goods, and weighing outgoing cargo.
Captured details will include manufacturing timestamps, product sizes, estimated weights, truck registration numbers, and total, empty, and net loads of shipped items. This information goes directly to the Central Control Unit of the FBR for tracking and matching.
Makers of steel must set up industrial cameras, video analytics gear, sensors, connected weighbridges, alongside other necessary software and hardware. The setup needs to feature automated alerts, counting functions, and security controls against interference.
Obsidian and ISSM Labelling Solutions were designated by the FBR as approved vendors for the iron and steel industry. Factories must coordinate setup and upkeep through approved suppliers operating under established sales tax guidelines.
Digital tracking is now compulsory for supplying and removing specified goods. Independent weighbridge logs, privately mounted cameras, and paper records cannot replace the certified platform.
Factories must notify the FBR, its Central Control Unit, and the appropriate Commissioner Inland Revenue within one hour if equipment breaks, suffers damage, gets tampered with, or if a production line stops working.
Operators also need to give thirty days of prior notice before altering products, manufacturing lines, weighbridges, or shipping procedures that might impact the oversight setup.
Field offices of the FBR received instructions to locate working steel plants, arrange site visits, oversee setup and testing, and look into unexpected gaps found in output and shipping records.
The gathered tracking details can also be checked against tax filings, sales receipts, inventory logs, power usage, and weighbridge records.
Breaking the rules by failing to set up or run the system, dodging monitoring tools, hiding production lines or shipping exits, or moving goods without required tracking can trigger penalties under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and related guidelines.
The new directive became effective immediately.
