FBR Orders Textile Spinning Units to Install Cameras by November 15
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed registered textile spinning units in Pakistan to install video surveillance cameras at specified production points by November 15, 2026.
The requirement, issued through Sales Tax General Order No. 30 of 2026, expands electronic production monitoring to cover natural, man-made and blended fibres in loose, opened or other non-bale forms. These include cotton, polyester, viscose, wool and acrylic.
Cameras required at fibre-processing points
The order specifies camera coverage at parts of the spinning process where loose fibre is fed or handled. These include hopper bale openers and feeders, weighing and blending feeders, blow room lines for man-made fibres, acrylic lines, and waste or recycling lines where fibre is returned to production.
FBR says the cameras must work as part of a video analytics solution, including the required hardware and software. The system is expected to capture production in real time, detect and count material, transmit data to the Board’s Central Control Unit, identify unexpected stoppages and support quantitative production analysis.
The new requirements build on Sales Tax General Order No. 08 of 2025, which introduced video monitoring for cotton bales at textile spinning units. That earlier order remains in force, according to the new directive.
What the change means for textile mills
Registered spinning units will need to arrange installation at the points specified in the order by the November deadline. FBR has also directed authorised vendors to ensure that their video analytics systems integrate with the cameras and can detect, count and quantify fibre entering production in non-bale form.
The measures apply to registered persons engaged in textile spinning. They concern production monitoring under sales tax rules; the order does not announce a change to textile tax rates.
The latest directive adds fibre processing to the production-monitoring framework already used for cotton bales. Its stated purpose is to give FBR real-time visibility into specified stages of textile spinning.