What FBR published from 5 to 11 September 2026

The Federal Board of Revenue published two operative instruments and two explanatory circulars during this review period. Sales Tax General Order 22 adds five steel manufacturers to the electricity-based sales-tax list with immediate effect. S.R.O. 1513(I)/2026 replaces 25 open-plot valuation entries in Rawalpindi.

FBR also issued separate circulars explaining important Finance Act 2026 amendments to the Income Tax Ordinance, the Sales Tax Act and the Federal Excise Act. These circulars are official guidance on enacted provisions; they are not a second Finance Act, do not by themselves change a return deadline, and should not be confused with draft rules.

Five steel manufacturers join the electricity-based sales-tax list

Sales Tax General Order 22 of 2026, dated 5 September, further amends STGO 16 of 2026. It adds serial numbers 32 to 36 for Rasheed Steel, Batala Steel Industries, Royal Steel, Platinum Steel Mill (Private) Limited and KBS Steel Furnace. The order says the regime applies to all electricity connections of these taxpayers with immediate effect.

Under the framework cited in the order, eligible iron and steel melters, re-rollers and composite units pay sales tax at PKR 5 per unit of electricity consumed. STGO 22 says eligibility was determined using the criteria in S.R.O. 1245(I)/2026, including scrap consumption, electricity used for steel production and scrap imports under specified tariff codes.

Inclusion is not necessarily permanent. FBR or the relevant field formation may examine eligibility independently, and the list may be revised by the Board or on a Commissioner's recommendation. A listed manufacturer should therefore match every electricity connection and registration detail to the order and continue to satisfy the underlying criteria rather than treating inclusion as unconditional approval.

Rawalpindi open-plot values change for 25 source entries

S.R.O. 1513(I)/2026, dated 9 September, is a final notification under section 68(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance. It amends the Rawalpindi immovable-property valuation notification, S.R.O. 1728(I)/2024, by substituting the value in column 6 for 25 specified serial-number entries.

The affected entries cover open plots in Morgah, Adyala, Daghal, Ghorakh Pur, Kalri and Shahpur, across residential, commercial and one agricultural classification. The replacement values range from PKR 422 to PKR 5,556 per square foot. Some rows share a place and classification but carry different notified amounts, so a transaction should be matched to the precise serial number, mauza, classification and on-road or off-road status—not to the locality name alone.

The notification does not replace the entire Rawalpindi schedule. It changes only the listed column-6 entries. Parties dealing with an affected property should read S.R.O. 1513 together with the base 2024 table and any later amendment before calculating the applicable federal tax value.

Income Tax Circular 02 explains enacted Finance Act changes

Income Tax Circular 02 of 2026-27, dated 8 September, explains 30 groups of Finance Act amendments. It confirms the statutory framework for faceless audit, assessment and appeals through a National Faceless Centre, with separate audit, assessment and quality-control functions and electronic communication. It also explains the algorithmic settlement mechanism: where FBR presents an eligible digital offer, the taxpayer may accept it on IRIS within ten days, deposit the settlement amount and revise the return, causing the identified proceedings to abate while leaving other issues or tax years open.

The circular also explains several taxpayer-facing changes, including:

revised salaried-person slabs and withdrawal of the separate 9% surcharge for salaried individuals above the relevant threshold;
abolition of deemed-income tax under section 7E;
flat advance-tax rates of 2.75% for sellers under section 236C and 1.25% for purchasers under section 236K;
reduction of advance tax on international credit, debit and prepaid-card transactions to 0.5%;
a 5% withholding rate on qualifying social-media-platform revenue credited through financial institutions;
tax on certain life-insurance or family-takaful payouts made before completion of four years, excluding death and disability payouts; and
electronic return filing, with companies required from Tax Year 2026 onward to submit accompanying financial statements in an electronically readable format.

The circular is a useful administrative explanation, but the enacted Ordinance, relevant rules, notified forms and live IRIS process remain controlling. It does not say that every case automatically enters the faceless or algorithmic process, and it does not extend the ordinary filing dates.

Sales Tax and Federal Excise Circular 01 explains digital and sector changes

Circular 01 of 2026, dated 11 September, explains the Finance Act changes to the Sales Tax Act and Federal Excise Act. For sales tax, FBR describes the PKR 200 million turnover threshold used in parts of the Tier-1 retailer definition, mandatory invoices for taxable and exempt supplies including advance receipts, the new faceless regime, algorithmic settlement, stronger electronic-invoicing and production-monitoring enforcement, and revised penalties for simulated invoices or unmatched input tax.

The circular also describes changes to exemptions and schedules, including wheat and rice bran, magazines, contraceptives, tampons, aircraft and specified electric vehicles; the option for individuals to pay sales tax on imported mobile phones in instalments subject to full payment within the same financial year; and new withholding treatment for certain toll manufacturing.

For federal excise, the circular explains monitoring and seizure provisions, special excise duty on certain imported vehicles, revised treatment of acetate tow, e-liquids, specified petroleum products, luxury electric vehicles and international premium-class travel, along with the extended electric-vehicle exclusion through 30 June 2027. Exact classification, value, conditions and effective machinery matter, so a headline description should not be used as a substitute for the Act, schedules and implementing rules.

What affected taxpayers and businesses should check now

Steel manufacturers named in STGO 22: verify every electricity connection, registration detail and continuing eligibility under S.R.O. 1245(I)/2026.
Rawalpindi property parties: match the property to the exact amended serial-number row and read the amendment with the base valuation schedule.
Income-tax filers: distinguish provisions already enacted by the Finance Act from procedures that still depend on FBR selection, prescription or an IRIS offer.
Sales-tax and FED registrants: review invoice, monitoring, integration, input-tax and sector-specific schedule changes against the exact business activity.
Employers, banks and withholding agents: update calculations only after matching the taxpayer, payment and effective provision to the controlling law.

FBR's official SRO search showed no other Customs, Sales Tax, Federal Excise or UNSC SRO dated 5-14 September when reviewed on 14 September. The 7 September small-trader seminar and 9 September FPCCI meeting were official engagement reports, not general tax instruments, and are not presented as rule changes here.

Official FBR sources

The bottom line

This week's direct operative changes are narrow but important: five more steel manufacturers enter the electricity-based sales-tax list, and 25 identified Rawalpindi open-plot values are replaced. The two circulars provide FBR's first consolidated explanation of many Finance Act 2026 income-tax, sales-tax and federal-excise changes; they clarify the enacted framework but are not new legislation or deadline extensions.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes official FBR documents reviewed on 14 September 2026. It is general information, not individualized legal, income-tax, sales-tax, federal-excise, property-valuation or withholding advice. Check the current law, the relevant schedule and any later notification before acting.

FBR Weekly Tax Update: Finance Act Guidance, Rawalpindi Values and Steel List