ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that Pakistanis spent over Rs317 billion on various online platforms operated by foreign tech companies during the 2024–25 fiscal year.
According to FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, more than 42.6 million transactions were recorded in this period.
The data was shared in a presentation on the proposed “Digital Presence” Proceeds Levy Act, 2025. The Act introduces a 5 percent income tax on foreign vendors that supply digitally ordered goods and services to consumers in Pakistan.
The tax will be collected by payment intermediaries, including banks and financial institutions, at the time of digital payments made to these vendors.
The FBR chairman said that platforms such as Meta, Apple, Netflix, Google, AliExpress, and Temu were among the top recipients of payments from Pakistani users.
Meta led in transaction value with Rs12.3 billion, while Apple/iTunes recorded the highest number of transactions at over 5.1 million, totalling Rs6 billion. Google followed with 2.3 million transactions worth Rs5.94 billion.
AliExpress logged over 944,000 transactions worth Rs4.9 billion. Temu recorded transactions worth Rs1.8 billion across nearly 377,000 purchases.
Netflix processed 3.37 million transactions totalling Rs2.79 billion.
The FBR also reported that the category marked as “other” online platforms accounted for 28.6 million transactions, with a total value of Rs281.4 billion.
The committee reviewed the Digital Presence Proceeds Levy Act, 2025, and recommended its passage by the National Assembly with minor amendments after detailed discussion.
Separately, the committee also considered amendments to the Islamabad Capital Territory (Tax on Services) Ordinance, 2001. Following deliberations, it recommended the bill for approval.
The committee also reviewed proposed amendments to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. After discussion, it approved the amendments and suggested corrections to several clauses.
Committee members in attendance included MNAs Omer Ayub Khan, Zeb Jaffar, Muhammad Usman Awaisi, Muhammad Jawed Hanif Khan, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Dr. Nafisa Shah, Sharmila Faruque Hashaam, Muhammad Mobeen Arif, Usama Ahmed Mela, Shahram Khan, Shahida Begum, Sami ul Hasan Gilani, and Ali Zahid. The Minister of Finance, Minister of State, Secretary Finance, and Chairman FBR also attended the meeting.
