The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed manufacturers of Tobacco, Sugar, Fertilizer, Cement, and Beverages to obtain “Brand Registration Certificates” from the FBR for selling their products in the market.

In this regard, the FBR has issued a Sales Tax General Order Number 7 of 2021, on Tuesday, detailing the procedure for the licensing of brand names for the specified sectors.

According to the circular, all existing and new manufacturers are required to register their brand of each product with the FBR before selling the same in the market.

No manufacturer shall be allowed to sell their products in the market without having their brands registered in the market. However, they may be allowed to sell their products in the market from the date of application submission to the FBR.

The Federal Government inserted section 40E in the Sales Tax Act, 1990 vide Finance Act, 2021, which empowers FBR to issue Brand Licensing Certificate to the manufacturers of specified sectors, i.e., Tobacco, Sugar, Fertilizer, Cement, and Beverages. For this purpose, FBR has issued a procedure for issuance of Brand Registration Certificate for these sectors vide STGO 7/2021 dated 3rd August 2021.

According to the notification, all existing and new manufacturers are required to submit an application to the Project Director (TTS) for issuance of a Brand Registration Certificate for all of their products. For this purpose, each manufacturer shall provide the requisite information required for brand registration. The Office of the Project Director (TTS) shall scrutinize all the applications and initiate the process of registration of the products as per the notified procedure.

It has been further notified by the FBR that if any of the manufacturers fail to obtain a Brand Registration Certificate from FBR, he shall not be allowed to sell their un-registered products in the market.

Source: Pro Pakistani