FBR Production Monitoring 2026: STGO 27 Camera Rules
STGO 27 of 2026: tea, electronics, paper, ghee and leather makers had to install FBR cameras by 15 October 2026. Missed it? 4 steps, vendors, invoices.
The short answer
Updated October 2026. By the Digi Invoice team at S.M. Raheel & Company — tax advocates, Faisalabad.
On 7 October 2026 FBR issued Sales Tax General Order (STGO) 27 of 2026. It tells registered makers of packaged tea, household electronics, paper and paperboard, edible oil and ghee, and leather to put FBR video cameras on every production line by 15 October 2026.
The same day FBR issued S.R.O. 1751(I)/2026. It brings leather makers and paper and paperboard makers under electronic production monitoring (FBR watching how much a factory makes, through cameras and recorders) with immediate effect.
Why this matters for invoicing: FBR can now count what leaves the line and compare it with the sales you post through digital invoicing. If the two do not match, expect questions. This guide is general information, not tax advice.
Update 14 October 2026: after a review meeting on 12 October chaired by the Prime Minister, Dawn and Profit reported a government timeline. Equipment for tea, household electronics, leather, paper and board, and oil and ghee is to be bought by 30 October, and systems in all these sectors are to run fully by 31 December 2026. This is a reported plan, not a new order. Until FBR issues a written change, STGO 27 still names 15 October 2026, so do not plan on the later date without it.
What do SRO 1751 and STGO 27 of 2026 say?
S.R.O. 1751(I)/2026 is a notification (a legal order FBR publishes in the official Gazette). It uses section 50(1) and section 40C of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. It applies rule 150ZQR in Chapter XIV-BA of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006, to registered manufacturers of leather and of paper and paperboard.
STGO 27 of 2026 is an operations order from FBR's IR Operations wing. It sets the practical steps. It rests on section 40C(2) of the Act, read with rules 150ZQR, 150ZQT, 150ZQU and 150ZQZE of the same chapter.
Five sectors are named in STGO 27. Packaged tea. Household electronics: refrigerators, deep freezers, washing machines, televisions and air conditioners. Paper and paperboard. Edible oil and ghee. Leather, including tanneries and synthetic leather makers. Toll manufacturers (factories that make goods for another brand under contract) are covered too.
Each factory must install IP cameras (internet-connected cameras) and an NVR (Network Video Recorder — the box that stores the footage) at its production lines. Recordings must be kept for at least two months. The footage belongs to FBR.
Official sources: STGO 27 of 2026 at download1.fbr.gov.pk/Docs/202610813104645103STGO27of2026.pdf and S.R.O. 1751(I)/2026 at download1.fbr.gov.pk/SROs/20261071910212452SRO1751.pdf.
Who installs the cameras, and who pays?
You cannot pick any camera company. STGO 27 lists four vendors that FBR has authorised: Obsidian Technologies, Tollink Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., ISSM Labelling Solutions (Private) Limited, and Authentik. The order gives a contact person and phone number for each.
The vendor supplies, installs, tests and maintains the system. The manufacturer pays the vendor's fee. No fee is paid to FBR or to a tax office. Press reports of the vendor approval say the vendors may only supply cameras and NVRs, not other equipment or software.
A simple plan for this week: 1) Check if your product is in one of the five sectors. 2) Call one authorised vendor now, as the 15 October date has passed. 3) List every production line, because each line needs coverage. 4) Keep the vendor's order and installation report as proof. 5) Make sure your sales tax registration and IRIS profile show your correct factory address.
What happens if a factory misses the 15 October 2026 deadline?
STGO 27 says a registered person who does not install the system in time is liable to penal action under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and the rules. The same applies to any act that blocks, avoids or tampers with monitoring. The order does not state a fixed fine amount.
The order also says that, from the installation date, the named goods cannot leave the factory unless they were made under a working video system. In practice, a factory without cameras risks having its dispatches stopped.
Other powers already exist. Sales Tax Circular 01 of 2026 records that a Commissioner can now suspend the sales tax registration of a person who does not install a required production monitoring system. 'FBR Sales Tax Circular 01 of 2026 Explained: Invoices for Exempt Sales and Advances, Rs 1 Million Non-Integration Penalty, Simulated Invoice Register and the 20% Input Tax Penalty' covers that change.
Industry pushback: on 12 October 2026 the Pakistan Tanners Association asked the Prime Minister to stop the plan. It said 15 October is too short and that the data is already in returns and export documents. Until FBR changes the date in writing, treat 15 October as the deadline. The same day, the Prime Minister was reported to have told FBR to cover all manufacturing sectors by 31 December 2026. That is a reported policy direction, not a legal order yet.
The 15 October deadline has passed. What should a factory do now?
Updated 16 October 2026. The STGO 27 date of 15 October 2026 has now passed. As of today we have not found a written FBR order that moves it. The reported government plan (equipment bought by 30 October, all systems running by 31 December 2026) is not an extension.
FBR's own press note on authorising these vendors warns that non-compliance can lead to penalties, legal proceedings and sealing of premises (the tax office locking the factory or a production line) under the Sales Tax Act, 1990. S.R.O. 1662(I)/2026 already sets the sealing steps for businesses that are not integrated with production monitoring. 'SRO 1662(I)/2026 Explained: Sealing of Non-Integrated Businesses and Seizure of Goods Without Tax Stamps' explains each step.
Under SRO 1662, sealing is not instant. An officer reports in writing, the Commissioner inquires, and the Chief Commissioner must sign a written order and serve a copy before sealing. The Commissioner must check claims that the delay was caused by FBR's system, the authorised vendor, or a power or telecom failure. So written proof of what you did, and when, matters.
If your factory still has no cameras, do these four things now: 1) Sign an order with one authorised vendor and keep the dated copy. 2) Keep the vendor's written install date and any delay message from the vendor. 3) Keep posting every sale through digital invoicing, so your sales record is complete. 4) Keep a daily production and stock register until the cameras run.
Where else FBR already watches production: the same FBR press note says production monitoring or Track & Trace already runs in cement, sugar, fertilizer and tobacco, and video monitoring for textile and tiles is being set up. Three of the same vendors (ISSM Labelling Solutions, Tollink and Authentik) are also authorised for bottled water and packaged juices. Business Recorder (14 October 2026) reports that FBR compares camera counts with the output declared in sales tax returns. Source: fbr.gov.pk/Events/fbr-authorizes-vendors-for-production-monitor/174606.
How does production monitoring link to FBR digital invoicing?
They are two separate systems that check each other. Production monitoring counts what you make. Digital invoicing records what you sell, with an IRN (Invoice Reference Number — the unique number FBR gives every invoice) and a QR code. Your sales tax return then shows the totals.
FBR can compare the three. If cameras show 10,000 units left the line in a month, but your posted invoices show only 7,000 units sold, FBR will ask where the other 3,000 went. Stock in the warehouse is a good answer only if your records prove it.
Worked example. A ghee unit in Faisalabad packs 20,000 one-kg pouches in October. It sells 18,000 to registered distributors at Rs 500 per kg before tax. Value: 18,000 x Rs 500 = Rs 9,000,000. Sales tax at 18%: Rs 1,620,000. Invoice total: Rs 10,620,000. The other 2,000 kg stay in closing stock. Every sale is posted to FBR in real time, and the stock register shows the 2,000 kg. The camera count, the invoices and the stock all agree.
This is not the same as Track & Trace, which puts tax stamps on items such as cigarettes, cement and sugar. 'FBR Track & Trace vs Digital Invoicing: Two Different Systems Explained (2026)' explains the difference.
Sector guides: 'FBR Digital Invoicing for Leather Tanneries and Leather Goods Makers in Pakistan (2026)', 'FBR Digital Invoicing for Paper and Board Merchants and Traders in Pakistan (2026)' and 'FBR Digital Invoicing for Manufacturers and Factories in Pakistan (2026)'. For fines, see 'Penalties for Not Using FBR Digital Invoicing (2026): Every Fine and Risk in One List'.
Digi Invoice does not sell or install cameras. It handles the invoice side: each sale is checked, posted to FBR through PRAL in real time, and printed with the IRN and QR code, so your sales records are ready to match. You can start free on the register page. Need help? Contact Digi Invoice — WhatsApp 0300 8680363.
Difficult words in this guide
STGO (Sales Tax General Order) — an order from FBR that tells tax offices and businesses how to carry out a rule.
S.R.O. (Statutory Regulatory Order) — a legal notification FBR issues under a law, with a number and date.
Production monitoring — FBR counting a factory's output through cameras and recorders on the production line.
NVR (Network Video Recorder) — the device that stores camera footage; here it must keep at least two months.
Toll manufacturer — a factory that makes goods for another company's brand under a contract.