The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed all sugar mills to refrain from clearing sugar production from their factory stores during the upcoming crushing season until Inland Revenue officers have digitally monitored the production through video surveillance, video analytics, or Digital Eye software.
This directive was issued on Wednesday through Sales Tax General Order (STGO) No. 5 of 2025.
According to the order, sugar mills must install video surveillance or video analytics-based production monitoring equipment before the start of the upcoming crushing season.
The FBR has strictly prohibited sugar mills from clearing sugar production from their business premises without monitoring via video surveillance, video analytics, or Digital Eye software.
The notification states that Section 40C(2) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 authorizes the FBR to announce the date for implementing production monitoring or tracking through video analytics or other electronic means in specific sectors.
By exercising the powers conferred under Section 40C(2) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and Rule 150ZQT(2) of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006, the FBR has mandated that no person engaged in the business of manufacturing sugar may remove production from the factory until it has been digitally monitored.
Before the start of the new crushing season, all sugar mills are required to procure and install production monitoring equipment in accordance with the following technical specifications:
- The Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) must be manufactured by NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, or Huawei, meeting the prescribed standards.
- The Central Processing Unit (CPU) must be manufactured by AMD or Intel, conforming to or exceeding the required technical specifications.
All hardware installations must be placed in standard mounting racks and cabinets with dust-protected, controlled enclosures and physical security measures, including lock-and-key options.
These hardware systems — collectively referred to as production monitoring equipment — should include both GPU and CPU systems, fully integrated with FBR-approved monitoring hardware already installed at sugar mills.
The setup must be capable of continuous production monitoring through video surveillance, video analytics, or Digital Eye software, as specified under Rule 150ZQS of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006, to enable real-time oversight by the FBR.
The order has been issued with the approval of the competent authority.
