How much advance income tax does a truck or goods transport vehicle owner pay under s.234?

What does the law say?

Section 234 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 makes whoever collects motor vehicle tax (the provincial token) also collect advance income tax at the rates in Division III of Part IV of the First Schedule. For goods carriers, Division III has two rules, both current in the text amended to 30 June 2026 and so applying in tax year 2027:

Vehicle	Rule	Rate
Any goods transport vehicle	Division III, clause (1)	Rs. 2.50 per kilogram of the laden weight
Goods transport vehicle with laden weight of 8,120 kg or more, after ten years from first registration in Pakistan	Division III, clause (1A)	Rs. 1,200 per annum

Section 234(4) supplies the other half: for a goods transport vehicle with a registered laden weight of less than 8,120 kg, advance tax “shall not be collected after a period of ten years from the date of first registration of vehicle in Pakistan”. So after ten years a lighter vehicle drops out of the tax entirely, while a heavier one moves to the flat Rs. 1,200 a year.

How does it work in practice?

The tax is collected by the same office and at the same time as the motor vehicle tax. Section 234(2) says that if the motor vehicle tax is collected in instalments or as a lump sum, the advance tax may be collected in instalments or lump sum “in like manner”. How often the token falls due, and the token amount itself, are set by provincial law, which is outside this corpus.

Clause (1) does not use the words “per annum”, while clause (1A) does. The Rs. 2.50 figure is therefore charged when the motor vehicle tax is collected, following its schedule. This page does not assume a period the text does not state.

The weight that matters is the laden weight. Section 234(4) speaks of the “registered laden weight”, so the figure on the registration record is the natural reference point.

Section 234(5) makes the tax adjustable, so it is a credit against the owner’s income tax for the year, not a separate cost that settles the matter. See the related page on whether it is final or adjustable.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Imran runs a small haulage business from Karachi and is on the Active Taxpayers’ List. He owns three vehicles. The weights and dates are invented; the rates are those in Division III.

1. Mini truck, registered laden weight 5,000 kg, first registered 2021. It is within ten years of first registration, so clause (1) applies: 5,000 x Rs. 2.50 = Rs. 12,500 each time the tax is collected with the token.
2. Six-wheeler, registered laden weight 16,000 kg, first registered 2023. Also within ten years: 16,000 x Rs. 2.50 = Rs. 40,000.
3. Older heavy truck, registered laden weight 22,000 kg, first registered 2013. More than ten years have passed since first registration, and the weight is 8,120 kg or more, so clause (1A) replaces the per-kilogram charge: Rs. 1,200 per annum.

If Imran also had a 6,000 kg vehicle first registered in 2013, section 234(4) would stop the advance tax on it altogether, because it is under 8,120 kg and more than ten years old.

Total collected on the three vehicles in one collection cycle: Rs. 12,500 + Rs. 40,000 + Rs. 1,200 = Rs. 53,700, all of it creditable against Imran’s income tax under section 234(5).

What if the owner is not on the Active Taxpayers’ List?

Section 100BA says the collection of advance tax from a person not on the Active Taxpayers’ List is determined under the Tenth Schedule. Rule 1 of that Schedule increases the rate “by hundred percent” for such persons. Rule 10 lists sections the Schedule does not apply to, and clause (ha) covers tax collected under section 234 on goods and passenger transport vehicles only for the period from the Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 to 30 June 2023. On the text, that period has ended, which suggests the doubled rate applies now: Rs. 5.00 per kilogram in effect, so the 5,000 kg mini truck above would carry Rs. 25,000 instead of Rs. 12,500. The Schedule does not say expressly how rule 1 applies to the flat Rs. 1,200 figure, so this page does not settle that.

What if the vehicle weighs exactly 8,120 kg?

Clause (1A) covers vehicles “with laden weight of 8120 kilograms or more”, and section 234(4) covers those of “less than” 8,120 kg. A vehicle of exactly 8,120 kg therefore falls under clause (1A) and keeps paying Rs. 1,200 per annum after ten years.

Common mistakes

• Using the old Rs. 5 per kilogram figure. The Finance Act, 2015 substituted clause (1), replacing an earlier text of five rupees per kilogram, and the Finance Act, 2019 removed a separate non-filer rate of four rupees per kilogram from it.
• Relying on old reduced-rate clauses. Second Schedule clauses that once reduced the truck rate to Rs. 2 per kilogram were omitted by the Finance Act, 2015.
• Applying the car rule to trucks. Section 234(2A), which stops advance tax on motor cars after ten years, is a separate rule. Goods vehicles follow section 234(4) and clause (1A).
• Treating the tax as final. It has been adjustable since the Finance Act, 2013.

What to check in the official text

Read section 234(1), (2), (4) and (5), and Division III of Part IV of the First Schedule in the official PDF, since our site copy of the Ordinance does not reproduce the schedule tables. Check rule 1 and rule 10 of the Tenth Schedule if the owner is not on the Active Taxpayers’ List. The provincial motor vehicle tax that this tax rides along with is outside this corpus.