In exercise of the powers conferred under section 21 of the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act, 2025 (Sindh Act No. II of 2025), the Government is pleased to make the following rules, namely: -
1. Short title and commencement and application.
(1) These rules may be called the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Rules, 2025.
(2) These rules shall come into force at once.
(3) These rules shall extend to the whole of the Province of Sindh.
2. Definition.
(1) In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) “Act” means the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Act, 2025 (Sindh Act No. II of 2025);
(b) “agent” means a person authorized by the owner to act on his behalf or to represent him in matters of submission of various Forms, returns, statements or documents as are required under the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder;
(c) “due date”, for filing of return, means, -
(i) in case of a company with a tax year ending on any day between the 1st day of January and the 30th day of June, the 31st day of December following the end of the tax year to which the return relates; and
(ii) in any other case, the 30th day of September next following the end of tax year to which the return relates:
Provided that the Board, with the approval of the Government, may extend the due date by a period not exceeding three months.
(d) “Form” means form appended to these rules;
(e) “Hari” or “Peasant” means a person who personally cultivates the land of another person but does not include a person who takes from the Government a lease of unoccupied land;
(f) “Labour” includes a part time or full-time labourer who works for wages;
(g) “registration” means the obtaining and allocation of the AITN as defined in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act;
(h) “rent” includes a payment or consideration-in-kind a person provides to an owner of a land in exchange for the right to occupy or use property for the agricultural purpose;
(i) “tax” means the agricultural income tax as defined in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act; and
(j) “tax year” means the agricultural income year as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act.
(2) All other terms and expressions used but not defined in these rules shall have the same meanings as are assigned to them under the Act.
3. Registration, changes in the particulars of the registration and de-registration.
(1) Every owner by whom any tax or any other sum of money is payable in respect of any agricultural income year, shall obtain his registration from the Board by e-filing the Form AIT-01 which shall invariably indicate the AITN as specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 2 thereof:
Provided that the Board or an AITO authorized by the Board in this behalf may, of its or his own, register an owner who fails to obtain registration:
Provided further that the owner’s liability to pay tax in relation to any agricultural income year shall not be affected merely on account of non-registration under this rule.
(2) Every owner who is registered under this rule shall e-file an application in Form AIT-01 in case there is a change in the name, address, email or other particulars of the owner or of his agent.
(3) Where for any reason, the owner having such registration ceases to exist or ceases to be deriving any agricultural income, he or his agent or his successor shall e-file a de-registration application in Form AIT-02 within 60 days of such cessation:
Provided that the owner or his agent or his successor shall be liable to e-file the prescribed return for the tax year in which the de-registration application is submitted and also for the tax year following thereto.
4. Return of agricultural income.
(1) Every owner, whose agricultural income for a tax year is liable to agricultural income tax in terms of section 3 of the Act read with the Schedules thereof, shall e-file his return in the prescribed Form (AIT-03) by the prescribed due date.
(2) The return shall -
(a) fully state all the relevant particulars or information as specified in the form of return;
(b) be accompanied with evidence of payment of tax due, if any, as per return in the form of the computerized payment receipt in Form AIT-04; and
(c) be taken to have been made on self-assessment basis.
(3) An AITO, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, may, by notice in writing, require any owner who, in his opinion, is required to e-file a return under this rule for a tax year but has failed to do so by the due date to e-file the prescribed return for that year within the time period as specified in the notice:
Provided that no such notice shall be issued after the expiry of five years from the end of tax year to which it relates.
(4) If an owner, having e-filed a return, finds any omission or wrong statement therein, he may, without prejudice to any liability incurred under any provision of the Act, e-file a revised return at any time before any notice for assessment is issued by the AITO but not after the expiry of four years from the date on which the return, sought to be revised, was e-filed by the owner:
Provided that in a case where as a result of the revision, the income declared or the tax payable is less than the income or tax payable, as the case may be, declared in the return sought to be revised, such revision shall be made after approval of the AITO of the rank of Commissioner concerned.
(5) Every return purporting to be made or e-filed, on behalf of an owner using his User ID, shall be treated as having been duly made by the owner.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, in relation to the tax year from the 1st day of January, 2025 to the 30th day of June, 2025 (as covered by the Explanation under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act) to the tax year 2025-26, where any owner or agent is required to e-file any document or application but is unable to do so, he may file, instead of e-file, hard copy of such document or application in the Board or to an AITO authorized by the Board in this behalf.
5. Records.
(1) Every owner shall maintain and keep in Urdu, Sindhi or English languages the following records in relation to his agricultural income and the tax liability thereon in such a manner that permit ready ascertainment of his tax liability during any tax year -
(a) record of the agricultural land owned or possessed by the owner showing the lease documents, location and area of such land and the amounts of land rent and abiana paid, if any;
(b) record of expenditure, including the receipts and invoices, made by the owner in relation to the items specified in section 7 of the Act;
(c) crop-wise record of agricultural produce during a tax year;
(d) record of the sale of the agricultural produce and the related record of receipts of amounts mentioned in sub-clauses (i) to (iii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act in relation to the income;
(e) evidence of agricultural income declared by the owner in his Federal income tax return;
(f) audited annual financial accounts in case of a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2017 (Act No. XIX of 2017); and
(g) such other record as may be specified by the Board or required by the AITO.
(2) Where an owner is engaged in generating agricultural income in areas outside Sindh, the records prescribed under this rule shall inter-alia include the records for such areas in a form and a manner as would permit reconciliation or ascertainment of his tax liability in Sindh.
(3) The record prescribed in these rules shall be kept and maintained by the owner for a period of five years after the end of the tax year to which it relates or till the final decision in any proceedings including proceedings for assessment, appeal, revision, reference or petition, whichever is later.
(4) The AITO may disallow or reduce an owner’s claim for a deduction if such owner is unable, without reasonable cause, to provide a receipt, or other record or evidence of the transaction or circumstances giving rise to the claim for the deduction.
6. Method of accounting.
(1) A company shall account for its agricultural income on accrual basis, while the owners other than a company may account for such income on cash or on accrual basis as regularly employed by such owner.
(2) An owner accounting for his agricultural income on cash basis shall derive income when it is received and shall incur expenditure when it is paid.
(3) An owner accounting for his agricultural income on accrual basis shall derive income when it is due to the owner and shall incur expenditure when it is payable by the owner.
(4) For the purposes of sub-rule (3) -
(a) an amount shall be treated to be due to an owner when the owner becomes entitled to receive it even if the time for discharge of the entitlement is postponed or the amount is payable in installments; and
(b) an amount shall be treated as payable by an owner when all the events that determine liability have occurred and the amount of the liability can be determined with reasonable accuracy.
7. Notice for production of books of accounts, evidence, etc.
An AITO, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner to produce or cause to be produced, by a specified date, books of accounts or documents or evidence in support of the declarations made in the return e-filed by such owner for any tax year:
Provided that the AITO shall not require production of book of accounts, documents or evidence relating to a tax year, assessment of which is barred under sub-rule (3) of rule 7.
8. Assessment.
(1) If an AITO, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, after considering the evidence on record (including the record/evidence produced before him in response to a notice issued under rule 6), he may, by an order in writing, assess the agricultural income of an owner on the basis of such material evidence and determine the tax payable by him:
Provided that where the owner produces the record or books of account or other evidences in support of the declaration made in the return, the AITO shall not make the assessment under this sub-rule without giving an opportunity of hearing to the owner to explain and justify the declarations made by him in his return and, thereafter, he shall issue the assessment order after taking into account the explanation and justification given, if any, by such owner.
(2) Where an owner fails to e-file a return or fails to comply with any of the terms of the notice issued under sub-rule (1), the AITO may, by an order in writing, assess the agricultural income of the owner to the best of his judgment and determine the amount of tax payable by him for a tax year.
(3) No assessment under this rule shall be made for a tax year by an AITO after the expiry of five years from the end of the tax year in which the agricultural income was first assessable:
Provided that where an owner has e-filed his return after the due date in relation to a tax year, no assessment under this rule shall be made after the expiration of five years from the end of the financial year in which such return is e-filed:
Provided further that where an owner has failed to e-file his return for a tax year, no assessment under this rule shall be made after the expiry of five years from the end of the financial year following the tax year.
9. Additional Assessment.
(1) Where in relation to assessment for any tax year, any agricultural income chargeable to tax under the Act has escaped assessment or has been under-assessed or assessed at a lower rate or assessed on the basis of ineligible deductions and refunds, an AITO, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, may issue a notice to the owner requiring him to show cause why additional assessment in addition to the assessment made under rule 7 may not be made for the reasons and information given in such notice.
(2) Having examined the response received, if any, from the owner, the AITO may proceed to assess and determine, by an order in writing, on the basis of material evidence the amount of additional assessment of the agricultural income of the owner and the amount of tax payable by him as per the additional assessment for the tax year as involved in the notice under sub-rule (1):
Provided that the burden shall be on the AITO to prove, on the balance of probabilities, in the case of an additional assessment order, the extent to which the taxpayer’s tax liability for the tax year is incorrectly declared in the return:
Provided further that for the income relating to the financial year 2024-25, the AITO shall not assess the tax payable on the basis of the tax paid in the previous income year.
(3) No order under this rule shall be made after the expiry of five years from the end of the tax year in which the agricultural income was first assessable.
10. Revision of assessment.
(1) An AITO, not below the rank of a Commissioner, may, on his own motion on the basis of material evidence or on the basis of an application made in writing by an owner requesting for revision of assessment order for any tax year, call for and examine the record of any proceeding under the Act or the rules for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or proprietary of any assessment made by an officer lower in rank.
(2) If after examining the record, the Commissioner is not satisfied with the legality or proprietary of any assessment order passed by an AITO under rules 7 and 8, the Commissioner may make such revision to the order as he may deem fit:
Provided that no order requiring payment of an amount of agricultural income tax higher than the amount assessed by the AITO shall be passed by the Commissioner under this rule unless the owner affected by such order has been given an opportunity for showing cause and being heard:
Provided further that the Commissioner shall not revise any assessment order -
(i) where an application for such revision has not been made by the owner within 90 days of the date of assessment order unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the owner was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application within the period of 90 days;
(ii) where the time limit for filing appeal has not expired and the owner has not expressly waived his right of appeal;
(iii) where an appeal against the assessment order is already pending with the Commissioner Appeals;
(iv) where, in case the application for revision of assessment order is made by the owner, the amount of tax, due in terms of the assessment order, that is not in dispute has not been deposited by the owner; and
(v) where a period of five years has expired from the date of the assessment order.
11. Apportionment of deductible allowances.
Where an owner derives income that is liable to tax under the Act as well as the income not liable to tax under the Act, he shall be entitled to claim deduction of only such proportion of the expenditures, in terms of sections 7 and 8 of the Act, that is attributable to income liable to tax under the Act.
12. Correction of clerical errors.
(1) Clerical or arithmetical errors in any assessment, adjudication, order or decision may be corrected, at any time, by the AITO through an order made under this rule.
(2) No order under sub-rule (1) which has the effect of increasing an assessment, reducing a refund or otherwise applying adversely to the owner shall be made unless the owner has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
13. Appeals.
The provisions of Chapter-IX of the Sindh Sales Tax on Services Act, 2011 (Sindh Act No. XII of 2011) with regard to appeals shall mutatis mutandis apply for the appeals filed under the Act and these rules.
14. Suspension and remission of tax.
The Government may, by notification in the official gazette, suspend or exempt or remit the whole amount of tax or any part thereof in relation to a tax year affected by calamity in areas declared as calamity affected.
15. Carry forward of losses.
(1) In respect of a calamity hit area, an owner may carry forward and adjust the loss so incurred in a tax year to the following tax year and set off the same against the owner’s agricultural income chargeable to tax in that year.
(2) If the loss sustained by an owner for a tax year is not wholly set-off under sub-rule (1), the owner may carry forward the balance of the amount to the following tax years not exceeding five years immediately succeeding the tax year during which the relevant loss was incurred.
(3) Where an owner has a loss carried forward, under this rule, for more than one tax year, the loss of the earliest tax year shall be set off first.
16. Liability in the case of deceased owner.
(1) Where an owner dies, his legal representative shall be liable for any tax that the deceased owner was liable or would have become liable for if the owner had not died.
(2) The liability under this rule shall be the first charge on the deceased’s estate or assets.
(3) For the purpose of making an assessment of the agricultural income of the deceased and recovery of tax.-
(a) any proceeding taken against the deceased before his death shall be deemed to have been taken against the legal representative from the stage at which it stood on the date of the death of deceased; and
(b) any proceeding which could have been taken against the deceased if he had survived may be taken against the legal representative.
(4) For the purposes of this rule, “legal representative” includes an agent of the deceased owner and also includes an executor, administrator and any person administering the estate of a deceased person.
17. Refund.
(1) Where an owner is satisfied that the amount of tax paid by him under the Act or rules made thereunder for any tax year exceeds the amount which was actually payable in terms of the Act and the rules applicable to that year, he shall make an application in writing, duly supported with the evidence and record, for refund of the amount so paid in excess:
Provided that the application for refund shall be submitted to the concerned AITO, not below the rank of the Commissioner, by the owner within one year from the date of e-filing of return or e-payment of the amount of tax, whichever is earlier.
(2) The concerned AITO shall, after examining the refund claim and the documents relating thereto, satisfy himself about the admissibility of the claim and sanction the refund of the admissible claim amount:
Provided that the AITO may call for such particulars, documents declaration and evidences as he may deem fit and appropriate for determining the admissibility of the claim:
Provided further that the AITO shall dispose of the refund claim through an order in writing which shall invariably be sent, amongst others, to the claimant and the Board:
Provided further that where the AITO is satisfied that the refund or any part thereof is not admissible for any reason, he shall issue a notice to the owner to show cause as to why the claim or the part thereof should not be rejected.
(3) The AITO after sanctioning the refund claim shall ensure that the procedures prescribed in the Treasury Rules are duly complied with:
Provided further that the AITO sanctioning the claim or any portion thereof, may allow the refund of the tax amount through adjustment against the future tax liability of the owner.
18. Appointment of Authorities.
For the purposes of the Act, the Board may, by order in writing, appoint any AITO, as defined in clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act, to be the AITO in relation to any area or any case or class of cases as may be specified in the said order and such AITO shall exercise powers and discharge duties and functions accordingly.
19. Disclosure of information.
(1) All particulars contained in -
(a) any statement made, return furnished, or accounts or documents produced under the provisions of the Act;
(b) any evidence given, or affidavit or deposition made in the course of any proceedings under the Act; or
(c) any record of any assessment proceeding or any proceeding relating to the recovery of a demand,
shall be confidential and no AITO, save as provided in the Act, may disclose any such particulars.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-rule (1) shall preclude the disclosure of any such particulars to any person acting in the execution of the Act, where it is necessary to disclose the same to him for the purposes of the Act.
(3) Nothing contained in sub-rule (1) shall preclude the disclosure of any information to any department of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government in terms of an agreement made by the Board with such department on reciprocal or multilateral basis.
20. Removal of difficulties.
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of these rules, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make such order as may appear to be necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty:
Provided that the power under this rule shall not be exercised after expiry of two years from the commencement of these rules.
21. Repeal and savings.
The Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Rules, 2001, on commencement of these rules shall stand repealed:
Provided that in making any assessment and collection of tax payable in respect of any income year ending prior to the date notified under sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Act, the provisions of the repealed rules shall remain in force as if these rules had not come into force.
Government of Sindh — Sindh Revenue Board (rule 3)
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Government of Sindh — Sindh Revenue Board (rule 3(3))
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Government of Sindh — Sindh Revenue Board (rule 4)
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(rule 4) — SBP Banking Services Corporation — SRB Alternative Delivery Channel-ADC (0105)
CPR No. SA - 20250319 - 0105 - XXXXXXX (denotes year, month and date) (denotes ADC #) (denotes challan #)
AITN: __________ Payment Date: __________
CNIC/Reg Inc No.: __________ AITO Office: __________
Name of owner: __________ Tax Year: __________
Business name of owner: __________
Address: __________
Head of Account (B-01176) — Tax on Agricultural Income
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Amount of tax in words: __________
Payment mode: XXXXXXXX Amount: XXXXXXXX A/c Ref No.: XXXXXXXX Date: XXXXXXXX Bank & Branch: __________
This digital version of the Sindh Agricultural Income Tax Rules, 2025 is provided as-is. Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and avoid error, no warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Consult the official sources or Gazette when legal accuracy is material.