Guide
I want to import into Pakistan,
or export from it
Trade with Pakistan runs through the customs system, and a business has to be registered with it before the first container moves. The registration needs a tax number, a bank account in the business’s name, and a person who appears in person. This page shows the order, and what is done for you from abroad.
Where this applies This page covers a business that imports goods into Pakistan or exports goods from it. Licences for particular goods, and the rules of the country on the other side of the trade, are separate matters.
What this is about
The customs system is online, but the registration for it is not a form you fill in from abroad. The business needs its tax registration first, then a bank account in its own name, and then an application to the customs office with an appearance in person, where a photograph and a thumb impression are taken. A company appears through an authorised person; a sole trader appears in person.
What stops applications is the order and the papers: a bank certificate in the wrong name, a company whose filings are behind, an authorised person without the right resolution. An advocate puts the papers in order before the first visit, so that there is only one visit.
What has to be in place
What has to be in place.
The business registered for tax, with an active tax number.
A bank account in the business’s exact name, with a certificate from the bank.
A person in Pakistan authorised to appear for the business, with the papers that say so.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers the customs office asks for.
- The tax registration and the sales tax registration, where required.
- The company’s incorporation papers, or the partnership deed, or the sole trader’s identity card.
- The bank account certificate, and the authorisation letter on the business’s letterhead.
- Identity documents of the person who appears.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Checks that the tax and company filings are in order, because the customs office will.
- Prepares the authorisation and the resolution so that the right person can appear.
- Attends the customs office with that person, and follows the application to the issue of the user account.
- Tells you which goods need a licence or a permit before you commit to a shipment.
What to ask before you agree
- Are the tax and company filings in order for the customs office?
- Who will appear for the business, and what papers make that person authorised?
- Do the goods we plan to trade need a licence or a permit?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Setting up and closing a company
I want to register a company in PakistanSetting up and closing a company
A branch or a subsidiary of my foreign companySetting up and closing a company
I want to close a companySetting up and closing a company
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- customs system
- The online system through which goods are declared and cleared.
- tax number
- The registration with the tax office that every trading business needs first.
- authorised person
- The person who appears at the customs office for a company.
Sources
Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.
Checked
11 September 2026
Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.