Pakistan Cracks Down on Online Shopping Tax Evasion

Pakistan Imposes New Taxes on Online Shopping from Foreign Vendors Pakistan's recent budget announcement for 2025-26 includes a significant tax increase on goods purchased online from international vendors. This move aims to address the challenges of tax collection in the growing cross-border e-commerce sector. The government states that existing tax treaties are inadequate to handle the scale of online transactions. "The current income tax system is not effectively capturing taxes from the booming e-commerce sector," explained a government official in a recent press briefing. "This new law will help us collect revenue from foreign vendors and level the playing field for domestic businesses." The new legislation targets foreign vendors who utilize websites and software applications to facilitate online sales and deliveries. The government believes that this will generate significant revenue and support local businesses. The implementation of this new tax policy has sparked debate among online shoppers and businesses alike, raising concerns about potential price increases and the impact on consumer spending.