If you own agricultural land in Sindh or earn income from farming, tenancy, or land lease, you may now be required to register with the Sindh Revenue Board and file an agricultural income tax return online. The Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025, which came into effect from January 1, 2025, replaced the old area-based advance tax system with an income-based regime administered entirely by the SRB, and it introduced a mandatory online registration process through a dedicated portal at aitapp.srb.gos.pk.
What Changed Under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025
Before this Act, agricultural tax in Sindh was collected by the Board of Revenue through local revenue officials such as Mukhtiarkars and Tapedars based on the size and classification of the landholding rather than on the actual income earned. That area-based advance tax system has been abolished.
The Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025 has been enacted with effect from January 1, 2025, and the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Ordinance 2000 has been repealed. Responsibility for administering and collecting AIT has been assigned to the Sindh Revenue Board, replacing the Board of Revenue. The previous area-based advance tax system is abolished, and the new regime taxes agricultural income only, in line with international best practices.
The shift from area-based to income-based taxation has significant practical implications. A small landowner with a modest harvest pays nothing if their income falls below the exemption threshold. A large commercial farming operation pays tax proportional to actual earnings rather than a flat rate linked to acreage. The land revenue collection guide explains how traditional land revenue was calculated, and the contrast with the new income-based AIT makes clear how fundamentally the approach has changed.
Who Is Required to Register
Understanding who is covered by the Act is the first step before approaching the portal. An owner as defined under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025, including an individual, a company, a cooperative society, tenant or lessee, who earns agricultural income above PKR 600,000 is liable to be registered with the Sindh Revenue Board.
This is a broad definition. The term “owner” under the Act is different from the everyday meaning of landowner. It covers anyone who earns agricultural income, which includes:
- Actual landowners who farm their own land
- Tenants and lessees who cultivate land belonging to someone else and earn income from it
- Mortgagees in possession who are cultivating land while the mortgage is active
- Members of a firm or association of persons earning agricultural income jointly
- Companies and cooperative farming societies operating agricultural businesses
Income derived from livestock, dairy, poultry, and fishery is not taxable under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025. If your income comes entirely from these sources and not from land cultivation or rent, the AIT registration requirement does not apply to you.
The PKR 600,000 exemption threshold means small-scale farmers whose total agricultural income falls below that amount are not required to register or file. However, once income crosses that threshold in any year, registration becomes mandatory and a return must be filed.
The AIT Portal: Where to Go and What You Need
The SRB has launched an online AIT return form available in the AIT portal, which can be accessed at https://aitapp.srb.gos.pk. The AIT payers of Sindh can now register and file their AIT returns at the portal and pay the agricultural income tax through mobile apps, ATMs, and over-the-counter in different bank branches across the province.
Before beginning registration, have the following documents and information ready:
- Your valid Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) for individuals
- An active mobile phone number registered in your own name
- Your National Tax Number (NTN) if you are registering as a company or entity
- Details of your agricultural landholding: district, tehsil, Deh, survey number, and area in acres and ghuntas
- Details of any lease or Muqataa arrangement if you earn income as a tenant rather than a landowner
The Tappa and survey number are listed as optional fields in the portal, but the SRB strongly recommends including them to avoid future correspondence or verification queries.
Step-by-Step Registration Process
The registration process through the SRB portal is entirely online. You do not need to visit any authority for registration and filing with the SRB. These services are made available online at ait.srb.gos.pk.
- Step 1: Access the Portal Go to aitapp.srb.gos.pk and click on the Register tab on the login page. Do not confuse this portal with the main eSRB portal at e.srb.gos.pk, which handles sales tax on services. The AIT portal is a separate dedicated system for agricultural income tax only.
- Step 2: Select Your Application Type The portal offers different registration paths depending on who you are. Select Individual or Member of a firm or Association of Persons (AOP) if you are registering as a person. Select Company or Cooperative Farming Society if you are registering as a legal entity. The information fields that appear will differ based on your selection.
- Step 3: Complete Form AIT-01 Form AIT-01 is the registration application form used to create your Agricultural Income Tax Number (AITN). For individuals, the initial fields collect your CNIC number, full name as it appears on the CNIC, date of birth, and mobile number. For companies and cooperative farming societies, the form requires entity-level information including NTN, entity name, and details of the authorized representative.
- Ensure all information matches your official documents exactly. Discrepancies between the portal entries and your CNIC or NTN records will delay the verification process and may trigger a follow-up from the SRB.
- Step 4: Add Property Details In the Property Details section, select the correct district, tehsil, and Deh from the dropdown menus. Then enter the area of your landholding in acres and ghuntas as per your official land records. If you are registering income from a lease or Muqataa arrangement, select that option and the portal will prompt you to add the relevant lease details.Each property can be added separately using the Add button, allowing multiple landholdings across different Dehs or districts to be recorded under a single registration.
- Step 5: Review, Confirm, and Submit Scroll to the bottom of the completed form and click Create Account. The SRB system will display a confirmation screen summarizing your entered information. Review every detail carefully. Once you click Confirm and Save, your application is submitted to the SRB. A confirmation message will appear on your registered mobile number.
You have now completed registration as an Individual or member of a firm or association of persons. You will be issued an Agricultural Income Tax Number (AITN), which is your unique identifier for all future interactions with the SRB under the AIT system.
What Happens After Registration: Filing the Return
Registration and filing are two separate steps. Registering with the SRB creates your AITN and establishes your identity in the system. Filing the return is the annual compliance step where you declare your income, calculate your tax liability, and make payment.
The Act introduces a self-assessment regime, with the due date for return filing generally set as September 30 following the close of the financial year. The fiscal year 2024-2025 was divided into two halves, with the earlier period from July 2024 to December 2024 taxed under the old rates and the second half from January 2025 to June 2025 taxed under the new income-based regime.
The return form is filed through the same AIT portal after logging in with your AITN credentials. In the return, you enter your agricultural income for the period, add the property details for the landholding that generated that income, and calculate the tax due based on the applicable slab rates.
- For income up to PKR 600,000: exempt from AIT
- Income above this threshold is taxed progressively through slab rates aligned with the federal income tax structure for individuals
- A super tax applies to high-earning agricultural income earners above specified thresholds
The filer versus non-filer property tax implications that affect withholding tax and advance tax on property transactions run alongside the AIT system and are separate obligations. Being registered and compliant under the AIT system does not automatically resolve your federal filer status, which is managed separately through the FBR.
How to Pay the Agricultural Income Tax
Once the return is filed and the tax liability is calculated, payment can be made through multiple channels without visiting any SRB office.
Method 1: Attaching a Paid CPR Navigate to the Payments page in the return filing section and click on the dropdown labelled Attach Payment Receipt. A list of your paid CPRs, matched against unique PSIDs (Payment Slip IDs), will be displayed. Select the CPR corresponding to the relevant tax period. The CPR will be attached to your return automatically.
Method 2: Generating a PSID and Paying Through a Bank Navigate to the Generate PSID option and click it. Enter the tax amounts across the applicable payment categories. Review all amounts carefully before proceeding. A confirmation screen will appear summarizing the tax year, payment categories, and total amount. Once confirmed, the PSID is generated. You can then pay this PSID through:
- Mobile banking apps linked to the 1-Link network
- Designated ATMs that accept PSID-based payments
- Over-the-counter payment at commercial bank branches across Sindh
After payment, the bank issues a Computerized Payment Receipt (CPR) which you then attach to your return to confirm payment. Keep the CPR in your records because it is your proof of compliance for that tax period.
Penalties for Non-Registration and Late Filing
The Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025 imposes mandatory penalties for non-compliance that apply automatically without requiring any separate notice. The penalty for non-filing is 0.1% of the tax due per day or Rs 1,000 per day, whichever is higher. This daily accrual makes delayed compliance increasingly expensive for anyone who earns above the threshold but delays registration or filing.
Beyond the daily penalty, the SRB has the authority to initiate audits of AIT returns. An audit can be triggered by legal and accounting discrepancies observed in the return, underreporting, or non-compliance with the requirements of the Act. Civil courts do not have jurisdiction over matters related to assessment or collection of AIT. Disputes about AIT assessments go to the Commissioner Appeals within the SRB as an internal review mechanism, and appeals against assessment orders must be filed within 30 days from the date of receipt of the assessment order.
What Is Different About the New System Compared to the Old One
The practical differences between the old Board of Revenue managed area-based system and the new SRB-administered income-based system affect landowners at every level.
Under the old system, tax was assessed based on the size and classification of the landholding. You paid a fixed amount regardless of whether the harvest was good, poor, or absent. A landowner with 50 acres paid the same tax whether they earned Rs 5 million or Rs 500,000 that year.
Under the new system, your actual income determines your liability. A bad harvest year with low income means low or zero tax. A productive year with high income means a higher but proportional tax. The system also formally brings tenants, lessees, and mortgagees in possession into the tax net as owners under the Act’s definition, closing a gap where income earned from cultivating someone else’s land went largely untaxed.
The administrative shift from the Board of Revenue to the SRB also means that the revenue officials who previously collected agricultural tax, Mukhtiarkars and Tapedars, are no longer involved in assessment or collection. The process is now entirely centralized through the SRB’s digital infrastructure. The duties of a Patwari and the role of the Qanungo in revenue administration remain relevant for land records and mutation matters, but they are no longer part of the agricultural tax collection chain.
Practical Tips Before You Register
Several things are worth confirming before starting the registration process to ensure it goes smoothly on the first attempt.
Verify that your CNIC is active and not expired. The SRB system links your registration to your CNIC number and cross-references it with NADRA. An expired or invalid CNIC will prevent your registration from being verified.
Confirm your landholding details against your official Fard document before entering them into the portal. The area in acres and ghuntas entered into the AIT portal will be used for assessment and verification purposes, and discrepancies against the official land record can trigger a follow-up inquiry from the SRB.
If your land is jointly held with co-owners, clarify upfront whether the income will be reported by one owner for the jointly held land or whether each co-owner will register and report their proportional share separately. This has assessment implications that are worth resolving before the first return is filed.
For agricultural income earned through a lease or Muqataa, have a copy of the lease agreement available when completing the portal form because the portal prompts for lease-specific details when that income type is selected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is required to register for agricultural income tax in Sindh under the new Act
Anyone who earns agricultural income above PKR 600,000 in Sindh is required to register with the Sindh Revenue Board under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025. This includes individual landowners who farm their own land, tenants and lessees who cultivate land belonging to others and earn income from it, mortgagees in possession who are actively cultivating land as security for a loan, and companies and cooperative farming societies with agricultural income. Agricultural workers who receive wages or salaries for their labor are not subject to the tax. Income from livestock, dairy, poultry, and fishery is also not taxable under this Act.
What is the AIT portal and how do I access it
The AIT portal is the Sindh Revenue Board’s dedicated online platform for agricultural income tax registration, return filing, and payment. It is separate from the main eSRB portal used for sales tax on services. The AIT portal can be accessed at aitapp.srb.gos.pk and allows eligible taxpayers to register using their CNIC and active mobile number, receive an Agricultural Income Tax Number (AITN), file annual income tax returns, generate payment PSIDs, and pay their tax liability through mobile banking apps, ATMs, or over-the-counter bank services without visiting any SRB office.
What is an AITN and why do I need it
An AITN, or Agricultural Income Tax Number, is the unique identifier issued by the Sindh Revenue Board to each registered taxpayer under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025. It functions similarly to an NTN in the federal tax system. Once registered through the AIT portal, your AITN is used to log in to the portal, file annual returns, track payment history, and respond to any communications from the SRB including audit notices or assessment orders. Every individual or entity earning agricultural income above the exemption threshold must obtain an AITN before filing their first return.
What is the penalty for not registering or filing a return for agricultural income tax in Sindh
The penalty for non-filing of an agricultural income tax return in Sindh is 0.1 percent of the tax due per day or Rs 1,000 per day, whichever is higher. This penalty accrues daily from the due date until the return is filed. The general filing deadline under the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025 is September 30 following the close of the financial year. For anyone earning above the PKR 600,000 exemption threshold who fails to register and file, these penalties compound quickly. The SRB also has authority to conduct audits and to initiate recovery proceedings for unpaid tax, and civil courts do not have jurisdiction to challenge assessment or collection actions under the Act.
How is the new agricultural income tax in Sindh different from the old system
The old agricultural tax system in Sindh was area-based, meaning it was assessed on the size and classification of the landholding rather than on the actual income earned. A landowner paid a fixed advance tax regardless of that year’s crop yield or income. The new system introduced by the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act 2025 is income-based, meaning tax is calculated as a percentage of actual agricultural income earned during the year above the PKR 600,000 exemption threshold. The new system also transferred administration from the Board of Revenue and its local revenue officials to the Sindh Revenue Board with fully online registration and filing, bringing Sindh’s agricultural tax in line with federal income tax principles and the practices of other provinces.