Do I pay vehicle advance tax on a motorcycle, rickshaw or commercial vehicle?

Two sections of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 collect advance tax on vehicles. Section 231B collects it on registration, transfer and purchase. Section 234 collects it alongside the provincial motor vehicle tax (the “token”). They do not cover exactly the same vehicles. This page uses the Ordinance as amended to 30 June 2026, so the rates are those for tax year 2027.

What does the law say?

Section 231B(7) defines “motor vehicle” for section 231B. It includes a car, caravan automobile, jeep, limousine, pickup, sports utility vehicle, truck, van, wagon and any other automobile, excluding:

1. a motor vehicle used for public transportation, carriage of goods and agriculture machinery;
2. a rickshaw or a motorcycle rickshaw; and
3. any other motor vehicle having engine capacity up to 200cc.

A vehicle in any of these three groups is outside section 231B. No advance tax is collected under that section at registration, at transfer or at sale by the manufacturer.

Section 234 works differently. Section 234(1) requires any person collecting motor vehicle tax to also collect advance tax at the rates in Division III of Part IV of the First Schedule. Section 234(6) says that, for sub-sections (1) and (2), “motor vehicle” includes the vehicles specified in section 231B(7). Division III has its own rates for goods transport and passenger transport vehicles, so the exclusion in section 231B(7) does not remove commercial vehicles from section 234.

What does section 234 charge on commercial vehicles?

Goods transport vehicles. Clause (1) of Division III charges two rupees and fifty paisa per kilogram of the laden weight. Clause (1A) says that for goods transport vehicles with laden weight of 8,120 kilograms or more, advance tax after ten years from first registration in Pakistan is collected at Rs. 1,200 per annum. Section 234(4) says that for a goods transport vehicle with registered laden weight of less than 8,120 kilograms, advance tax is not collected after ten years from first registration in Pakistan.

Passenger transport vehicles plying for hire. Clause (2) of Division III sets rates per seat per annum by registered seating capacity:

Registered seating capacity	Non air conditioned (Rs. per seat per annum)	Air conditioned (Rs. per seat per annum)
4 or more but less than 10 persons	200	375
10 or more but less than 20 persons	500	750
20 persons or more	1,000	1,500

Section 234(3) says that for a passenger transport vehicle with registered seating capacity of ten or more, advance tax is not collected after ten years from the first day of July of the year of make.

Section 234(2) allows the advance tax to be collected in instalments or lump sum, in the same way as the motor vehicle tax. Section 234(5) makes it adjustable.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Truck. Rafiq in Multan owns a goods truck with a registered laden weight of 12,000 kilograms, first registered six years ago.

1. Clause (1) rate: Rs. 2.50 per kilogram of laden weight.
2. Tax: 12,000 x Rs. 2.50 = Rs. 30,000, collected with the motor vehicle tax.
3. Because the truck is used for carriage of goods, no section 231B tax applied when it was registered.

Coach. Sajid in Peshawar runs an air conditioned coach with 45 registered seats, plying for hire.

1. Clause (2) band: 20 persons or more, air conditioned, Rs. 1,500 per seat per annum.
2. Tax: 45 x Rs. 1,500 = Rs. 67,500 per annum.

Motorcycle. Ali in Hyderabad registers a new 125cc motorcycle. It is up to 200cc, so section 231B(7)(iii) takes it outside section 231B and nothing is collected under that section.

What if the owner is not in the active taxpayers’ list?

Rule 1 of the Tenth Schedule increases the rate of tax collected from a person not in the active taxpayers’ list by one hundred percent of the rate in the Ordinance, unless rule 10 excludes the section. Rule 10(ha) excluded section 234 tax on goods transport and passenger transport vehicles only for the period ending 30 June 2023. For tax year 2027 that exclusion period has passed, so on the text the general rule 1 increase applies.

What about a motorcycle above 200cc, or section 234 on a bike or rickshaw?

The text leaves gaps here, and this page does not fill them.

• The 200cc exclusion in section 231B(7)(iii) covers vehicles “up to 200cc”. The definition does not say whether a motorcycle above 200cc is an “automobile” within it.
• Section 234(6) uses the word “include” for the vehicles in section 231B(7). It does not expressly exclude motorcycles or rickshaws from section 234, and Division III does not mention them.

Common mistakes

• Treating a pickup as always exempt. Section 231B(7) lists pickups and trucks as included. The exclusion depends on use: a vehicle “used for” carriage of goods or public transportation.
• Assuming commercial means untaxed. Goods and passenger vehicles leave section 231B but pay section 234 at Division III rates.
• Treating section 234 tax as final. Section 234(5) makes it adjustable.

What to check in the official text

Read section 231B(7), section 234(1) to (6), and clauses (1), (1A) and (2) of Division III of Part IV of the First Schedule. Check rule 1 and rule 10 of the Tenth Schedule for persons not in the active taxpayers’ list. The provincial motor vehicle tax itself, and provincial registration fees, are outside this corpus.