The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), through Sales Tax General Order No. 29 of 2026, has directed registered steel manufacturers, including melters, re-rollers and composite units, to install and operationalize an electronic production monitoring system. The reported implementation deadline is 30 December 2026, covering every manufacturing facility and active production line. The initiative aims to strengthen transparency by electronically recording production quantities, product specifications and dispatch activities.
The prescribed system will incorporate industrial cameras, automated product counting, weight estimation, sensors and integrated weighbridges to reconcile actual production with dispatched quantities. Manufacturers will be required to engage FBR-authorized vendors and ensure secure transmission of production data to the Board’s Central Control Unit. The framework also requires reporting specified system failures or tampering incidents within one hour and providing 30 days’ advance notice of relevant changes to production or dispatch arrangements.
The compliance implications are significant. Under the prescribed framework, manufacturers cannot remove or supply specified goods without the required monitoring and dispatch reconciliation. Manual records and independently installed surveillance systems will not substitute for the approved mechanism. Steel manufacturers should therefore assess their production infrastructure, implementation arrangements and internal controls well before the deadline to minimize potential operational disruption and exposure under the Sales Tax Act, 1990.