STGO 25: no sales tax or digital invoice on factory-to-warehouse transfers

Sales Tax General Order (STGO) 25 of 2026: the FBR has told its field offices that moving your own goods from your factory to your own warehouse is not a taxable supply, as long as both premises are on the same sales tax registration number (STRN). That means no sales tax, and no digital invoice, on the trip. What it needs instead is a Stock Transfer Note travelling with the goods.

The order answers a problem manufacturers had been raising since digital invoicing was extended: officials and checkposts treating an internal stock move as a sale, demanding an invoice and holding trucks. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed it on 28 September; KCCI president Rehan Hanif said it would "reduce uncertainty for businesses and facilitate uninterrupted movement of goods", APP reported.

What STGO 25 requires

If the warehouse has its own separate STRN, the move is a taxable supply and needs a digital invoice like any sale. That is the line to check before you rely on the order.

What officials may no longer do

According to the order, as reported by Dawn and APP:

• An STN is not to be treated as a violation when both premises share a registration.
• Officers should not demand extra documents such as the driver's identity, or detain vehicles, without proper grounds.
• Physical inspection of goods in transit is limited. The exception is Third Schedule goods (sold at printed retail price), which can still be checked for retail price marking.

What to do this week

1. Check your registration. On IRIS, confirm the warehouse address is listed as a business premises under your STRN. If it is not, add it before relying on STGO 25.
2. Print STN books or set up a numbered STN in your ERP. Sequential numbering is a condition, so a handwritten slip with no series will not do.
3. Keep a copy of STGO 25 with drivers. It is the fastest answer at a checkpost.
4. Sales to customers are unchanged. Every actual supply still needs a digital invoice and output tax at 18 percent. Work out tax-inclusive and exclusive prices with our sales tax calculator.

The order follows a run of FBR changes for sales tax filers this month, including e-scrutiny under SRO 1655, which gives registered persons seven days to fix flagged errors (our report).