Compliance Audit in Pakistan tax, SECP and regulatory obligations checked

Compliance gaps are usually found by regulators, unless you look first

Most Pakistani businesses are subject to more obligations than anyone in the business can list: federal and provincial tax, SECP filings and registers, payroll obligations and the conditions attached to registrations, licences and loans. A compliance audit makes that list and checks each item.

A compliance audit compares what the business is required to do with what it has actually done. For tax, that covers income tax and sales tax registration and filing, withholding under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and quarterly statements under section 165, provincial sales tax on services, and the Active Taxpayers List. For companies, it covers the Companies Act, 2017 and SECP requirements: annual returns, filings of changes in directors, shareholding, registered office and beneficial ownership within their time limits, statutory registers and minutes, and the holding of annual general meetings within 120 days of the year-end.

Depending on the business, we also review payroll obligations, PSEB and other registrations, chamber or sector licences, and the reporting and covenant conditions in loan or donor agreements. The output is a report that lists each obligation, the evidence reviewed, the status and the action needed, ranked by risk, so management or the board can see the position at a glance.

Evidence matters in a compliance audit. For each obligation we look for proof, not assurance: the IRIS acknowledgement for a return, the CPR for a deposit, the SECP eServices record for a filing, the signed minutes for a meeting, the register entry for a share transfer. Where the evidence is missing, the item is reported as a gap even if staff believe it was done, because that is how a regulator would see it. We then work with you to locate the evidence or regularise the position, whichever is needed.

A compliance audit is broader than a tax compliance review, which tests tax filings in depth. Corporate gaps are fixed by our corporate compliance and SECP filings teams, and payroll gaps by our payroll services.