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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has set up an online bidding system for selling seized and confiscated goods. The FBR e-auction framework was notified through SRO 1889(I)/2026, which amends the Sales Tax Rules, 2006.
An SRO, or Statutory Regulatory Order, is the instrument the government uses to issue or change rules without going back to parliament. This one gives the sale of confiscated goods a fixed, step-by-step process on an electronic platform that the FBR will administer.
Who can bid, and what it costs
Anyone holding a valid Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) or a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) can apply. The application is filed online, with a one-time registration fee of at least Rs 25,000.
Approved applicants get a unique identification number through the e-auction module. The rules, as reported, set a floor for the fee and do not say whether there is a ceiling.
What the platform will handle
The FBR platform will cover registration, listing of goods, bidding, approval, payment, delivery and record-keeping. Everything sits in one system.
Custodians, the officials or offices holding the goods, carry much of the groundwork. They must identify and record what is available for disposal, upload inventories, photographs and documents, keep the goods safe and allow inspections. After payment and completion of legal requirements, they deliver the goods to the winning bidder.
Legal checks before a lot goes on sale
Before an auction starts, the authorised officer must verify the legal status of the goods. That includes any court-ordered stay, release or redemption options, restrictions and compliance requirements.
Goods under a judicial stay cannot be auctioned until the stay is vacated or withdrawn. This is the rule most likely to matter in practice, because disputes over seized goods often end up in court.
How reserve prices will be set
A reserve price is the minimum a lot can sell for. For each lot, a valuation committee of an Additional Commissioner, a Deputy Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner Inland Revenue will set it. The committee can bring in a technical or valuation expert if needed.
The rules list the reference points it must consider:
- the average unit price of similar goods declared in sales tax returns over the preceding three tax periods
- printed retail prices, after deducting an appropriate dealer or wholesaler margin
- customs-assessed values for imported goods
- market quotations, where no other reference price exists
If a lot stays unsold across three consecutive auctions, the committee may lower its reserve price by up to 10 percent of the reference reserve price at a time. Prices therefore step down in controlled stages rather than being renegotiated lot by lot.
Bidding window and records
Each auction notice must carry the auction number, description and quantity of goods, location, reserve price, photographs and inspection arrangements. It must also state the bidding period, minimum bid increment, bid security, applicable taxes and duties, restrictions, payment terms and delivery conditions.
Bidding stays open for 72 hours from the receipt of the first bid. The module shows the highest bid automatically and logs every valid bid with its date, time and bidder identification.
Electronic records kept under the system will count as valid records for the Sales Tax Act and the Sales Tax Rules. That gives the audit trail legal weight if a sale is later questioned.
| Element | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Eligible bidders | CNIC or NICOP holders |
| Registration | Online, one-time fee of at least Rs25,000 |
| Reserve price | Set by a three-officer valuation committee |
| Price reduction | Up to 10% of reference reserve price after three unsold auctions |
| Bidding period | 72 hours from the first bid |
| Records | Electronic records valid under sales tax law |
What the rules leave open
The framework answers who sets the price, who can bid and how bids are logged. It says less about what happens at the edges.
The 72-hour clock starts at the first bid, so a lot that draws no bids never starts it. The reported text does not say how long such a lot stays listed or whether the same three-round rule applies. The term “reference reserve price” is also not defined in the reporting, so the size of each cut depends on how it is read.
The Rs25,000 minimum fee sets an entry bar. It may deter casual bidders, and it also creates a verified pool of registered buyers whose identities the system records. Whether that improves competition or narrows it will show up in auction results, not in the rules.
For years, the disposal of seized goods has been a stage where value can leak, through low valuations, thin competition or poor records. This framework tackles the record-keeping part directly. Every bid is time-stamped and tied to an identified bidder, and prices rest on declared returns and customs values, not a single officer’s judgment.
The discretion has not disappeared, though. It has moved to a three-officer committee and an expert it may choose to hire. How the FBR publishes auction notices, reserve prices and final sale prices will say more about transparency than the rules do. If those figures are made public, Pakistan’s taxpayers and traders will be able to check what confiscated goods actually fetch.
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