Car registration in Pakistan 2026: fees, advance tax, token tax and transfer by province

Car registration in Pakistan is done by your province's Excise and Taxation department, not by the federal government, so the fee depends on where you live. On top of the provincial registration fee you pay FBR's advance income tax under section 231B, which for a filer runs from 0.5% of the car's value (up to 850cc) to 12% (above 3000cc), and three times that for a non-filer. This guide sets out the steps, the documents and every fee we could verify on each province's official page on 4 October 2026.

What you pay at new registration

A new car's registration bill has four parts:

1. Provincial registration fee, a percentage of the invoice value by engine size.
2. Advance income tax (section 231B), collected by Excise for FBR.
3. Token tax (motor vehicle tax), annual or lifetime, plus the section 234 income tax collected with it.
4. Fixed charges: number plates, registration book and the smart card.

Bigger cars can also attract capital value tax and, in Sindh, luxury tax.

Advance tax on registration (FBR, section 231B)

These are the rates in FBR's withholding tax card for tax year 2027, updated to 30 June 2026 under the Finance Act 2026. The tax is a percentage of the value: the invoice price including duties and taxes for a locally made car, or the customs-assessed value plus duties and taxes for an imported one.

Worked example: a 1300cc car invoiced at Rs 5,000,000 carries Rs 75,000 advance tax for a filer and Rs 225,000 for a non-filer. That gap alone is a reason to get on FBR's Active Taxpayers List before you buy; our income tax calculator shows what filing would cost you in tax. The advance tax is adjustable against your income tax for the year if you file a return.

Provincial registration fee

Punjab exempts electric vehicles from 95% of the registration fee and 95% of motor vehicle tax.

Step by step: registering a new car

1. Collect the papers from the dealer: the original sales certificate and sales invoice (for an imported car, the customs import permission, the duplicate goods declaration showing duties paid, the invoice and the bill of lading).
2. Fill in Form-F, the registration application, and attach a copy of your CNIC. Islamabad also asks for an application to the Excise and Taxation Officer and proof of an Islamabad address.
3. Biometric verification: Punjab lists owner biometric verification as a separate Excise service (bioverification-excise.punjab.gov.pk); Balochistan fines Rs 2,000 when the biometric slip expires.
4. Vehicle inspection: an Excise inspector checks the car against the documents (Islamabad describes the inspector physically checking the vehicle before the computerised Form-F is issued).
5. Pay the fees: the registration fee, the advance tax, the token tax and the plate and card charges, in one challan or PSID.
6. Collect the plates and smart card. Islamabad's page gives up to 90 days for the full process.

Register within 60 days of buying. Punjab charges a late fee of Rs 2,000 for 60 to 180 days and Rs 5,000 after 180 days; KP charges Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 for up to six months late and Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 after that, depending on engine size.

Plates, book and smart card

Token tax by province

Token tax is the yearly motor vehicle tax. Pay it on time: transfer offices ask for the token to be paid up to date.

Punjab (2026-27): Rs 20,000 for 1000cc cars, 0.3% of the invoice price for 1001 to 2000cc, and 0.4% for 2001cc and above. Pay the full year by 31 August for a 10% rebate. A car up to 1000cc transferred within 10 years pays a Rs 20,000 lifetime token, less 10% for each financial year since registration. Punjab also collects capital value tax of 1% of value on cars over 1300cc, for five years, reduced by 10% a year.

Sindh: the Excise Sindh calculator returns Rs 1,500 a year up to 1000cc, Rs 2,000 for 1001 to 1300cc, Rs 4,000 for 1301 to 1600cc, Rs 4,500 for 1601 to 2000cc, Rs 5,000 for 2001 to 2500cc and Rs 7,000 above 2500cc, with a Rs 20,000 lifetime option for cars up to 1000cc. It adds luxury tax of Rs 25,000 for 1500 to 1999cc and Rs 50,000 from 2000cc. Our Sindh token tax guide shows how to pay by PSID.

Balochistan (from 1 July 2025): Rs 1,400 a year for 1001 to 1500cc, Rs 1,700 for 1501 to 2000cc and Rs 2,000 above 2000cc; lifetime tax from Rs 10,500 (up to 660cc, new car) to Rs 24,000 (over 2000cc, new car), lower for older cars. Late payment costs Rs 120 a quarter.

KP and Islamabad: neither department's site publishes a current token tax table we could read; pay through the KP Excise counters or the City Islamabad app and check the challan.

Work out your own figure with our token tax calculator.

Income tax collected with the token (section 234)

Where the token is paid as a lump sum, the section 234 tax is also a lump sum, from Rs 10,000 (filer, up to 1000cc) to Rs 120,000 (filer, 2000cc and above).

Transferring a car to a new owner

Documents: the transfer order (T.O.) form signed by both sides, CNIC copies of the seller, buyer and witnesses, the original registration book or smart card with token tax paid to date, and a bank NOC if the car was on lease.

FBR tax on transfer (section 231B(2)): nil up to 850cc; for a filer Rs 5,000 (851 to 1000cc), Rs 7,500 (1001 to 1300cc), Rs 12,500 (1301 to 1600cc), Rs 18,750 (1601 to 1800cc), Rs 25,000 (1801 to 2000cc), rising to Rs 62,500 above 3000cc; non-filers pay three times as much. The amount falls by 10% for each year since first registration.

Provincial transfer fee:

Transfer late, pay daily in Sindh. From 13 February 2025 Sindh charges Rs 200 a day up to 1000cc (capped at Rs 30,000), rising to Rs 2,000 a day above 3000cc (capped at Rs 500,000). Transfer promptly after a sale, in every province: until you do, the challans and any liability stay in the seller's name.

Common mistakes

• Buying on an open letter. The car stays in someone else's name; transfer it before you pay in full.
• Not checking the car first. Run the number through online vehicle verification to confirm the owner, the engine and chassis numbers and the token status.
• Registering as a non-filer. On a Rs 5 million 1300cc car the extra advance tax is Rs 150,000, which is more than most people's filing costs.
• Missing the 60-day window. Late fees are small in Punjab and KP, but the car cannot legally be driven on temporary papers forever.
• Trusting an old fee table. Some provincial pages still carry the fixed 231B amounts from before July 2024; FBR's current percentages apply.

Before you buy

Budget the whole cost: price, registration fee, advance tax, plates and the first token. Our car registration tax calculator adds them up, the car loan calculator shows the monthly instalment, and the vehicle transfer fee calculator covers a used car.

Fees checked on each department's official page on 4 October 2026. Provincial pages carry no revision date, so confirm the total on your challan before you pay.