Pakistan mandates barcode scanners on tea packaging lines by December 10

PAKISTAN – The Federal Board of Revenue has directed registered tea manufacturers, blenders and packers to install electronic production monitoring systems by 10 December 2026, requiring every retail pack to be electronically recorded before leaving factory premises.

The new law also mandates unique machine-readable barcodes on all packaging.

The directive, issued under Sales Tax General Order No. 35 of 2026, also applies to toll and contract packers and requires installation of barcode scanners, counting sensors and related equipment on every packing line to monitor production and transmit data to the tax authority in real time. 

The board has identified 14 registered manufacturers and packers for implementation, including Tapal Tea, Mezan Tea, Islamabad Tea Company, Alpha Tea, Leader Tea, Top Tea Company, Kohistan Foods, Quality Products, Noor Tea Co., Ahbaab Impex, DK Products, Kamal Foods, Raaz Industries and Eastern Products.

Packaging Formats Span Sachets to Bulk Packs

The order covers black tea, green tea, flavoured tea, tea bags, instant tea, tea extracts and premixes containing milk powder or sugar. 

All retail packaging formats fall within its scope, including sachets, pouches, cartons, jars, tins and bulk packs. 

Monitoring equipment must be installed at the point on each packing line immediately after a retail pack has been filled and sealed, with industrial barcode scanners reading each pack’s barcode to identify its stock-keeping unit while counting sensors record the number of packs produced.

Unique Barcodes Required Within 15 Days

Manufacturers and packers have 15 days from the date of the order to ensure every retail product carries a unique machine-readable barcode. 

Each distinct combination of brand, blend, weight and packaging type must be assigned a separate barcode, printed on or securely attached to the retail pack. 

Businesses must also register product information with an authorised vendor for integration with the revenue board’s system, including brand, weight, packaging type, retail price, barcode and photograph. 

Any new product or modification to an existing product must be registered at least seven days before packing begins.

Compliance Push Targets Sales Tax Gap

The measure forms part of the tax authority’s efforts to improve sales tax compliance and address an estimated gap of more than Rs3 trillion (US$2.25 billion) between potential and actual sales tax collections. 

Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue have been directed to nominate dedicated focal persons to coordinate with manufacturers, authorised vendors and the tax authority. 

For Pakistan’s tea packaging sector, the mandate requires investment in line-level scanning hardware, SKU master data management and vendor integration, compressing preparation timelines ahead of the December deadline.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE