Karachi, August 15, 2025 – The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has released its annual list of the top 10 tax withholding agents for the fiscal year 2023-24, recognizing entities that played a major role in collecting Sindh Sales Tax (SST) on services.
According to SRB, these top withholding agents collectively contributed Rs4.781 billion in SST during the year. Leading the list was Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd. with Rs831.85 million, followed by United Energy Pakistan Ltd. at Rs775.55 million, and Pepsi-Cola International (Pvt) Ltd. at Rs496.11 million. Other notable agents include Sino Sindh Resources (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi Electric Supply Co. Ltd., Nestle Pakistan Ltd., Coronet Foods (Pvt) Ltd., Sukkur Electric Power Co. Ltd., Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd., and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd.
Under the Sindh Sales Tax Special (Procedure) Withholding Rules, 2014, entities procuring taxable services must deduct and deposit the SST directly to the SRB. In FY 2023-24, total SST collected from withholding agents reached Rs37.43 billion, marking a remarkable Rs29.87 billion increase from the previous year. These agents include federal and provincial government departments, autonomous bodies, public sector organizations, private companies, and entities registered with SRB or FBR that operate in Sindh.
The SRB highlighted that automation has been a key driver of this growth. The manual deduction process from Sindh government payments has been replaced with an SAP-based system at AG-Sindh and District Accounts Offices. Furthermore, SST deductions from federal government bills processed through DGPR Karachi and sub-offices have also been automated, leading to faster collections and reduced human error.
Notably, the withholding rate for services procured by government offices and public sector bodies has been revised from one-fifth to four-fifths. Additionally, 100% SST must now be withheld if the service provider is a non-active SRB taxpayer, tightening compliance and closing revenue leakages.