If I buy property through a Roshan Digital, FCVA or NRVA account, is the 236K tax final?

Advance tax on buying property under section 236K of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 is normally an adjustable credit. For a non-resident who pays through a Foreign Currency Value Account or an NRP Rupee Value Account, a proviso turns it into a final discharge. This page reads the Ordinance as amended to 30 June 2026, which governs transfers in tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027).

What does the law say?

Section 236K(1) requires the person registering, recording or attesting a transfer to collect advance tax from the purchaser at the Division XVIII rate. Section 236K(2) says the tax “shall be adjustable”.

A proviso, added by the Finance Act, 2021, then says that if the buyer or transferee is a non-resident individual holding a Pakistan Origin Card (POC), a National ID Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or a Computerized National ID Card (CNIC) “who has acquired the said immovable property through a Foreign Currency Value Account (FCVA) or NRP Rupee Value Account (NRVA) maintained with authorized banks in Pakistan under the foreign exchange regulations issued by the State Bank of Pakistan, the tax collected under this section from such persons shall be final discharge of tax liability for such buyer or transferee.”

In the consolidated PDF the proviso is split across two pages, with unrelated text printed in between. The two parts read together as set out above.

Adjustable or final: what is the difference?

Point	Normal 236K (adjustable)	Proviso buyer (final)
Who	Any buyer	Non-resident POC, NICOP or CNIC holder
How paid	Any means	Property acquired through an FCVA or NRVA
Rate in tax year 2027	1.25% of fair market value	1.25% of fair market value
Effect	Credit against the buyer’s income tax for the year	“final discharge of tax liability” for the buyer

Section 169 sets out the general consequences where tax is final under the provisions it lists, such as that “there shall be no refund of the tax collected or deducted” unless it exceeds the amount chargeable. Section 169(1) as consolidated does not list section 236K. The 236K proviso uses its own words, “final discharge of tax liability”, and the Ordinance does not spell out further how section 169 applies to it.

Who is covered, and who is not?

The proviso has three conditions:

1. Non-resident individual. Residence is tested each tax year under section 82.
2. Holding a POC, NICOP or CNIC. Unlike clause (111AC) of the Second Schedule, this proviso names the CNIC as well.
3. Acquired through an FCVA or NRVA maintained with an authorised bank under State Bank of Pakistan foreign exchange regulations.

The Ordinance does not use the name “Roshan Digital”. It names the account types. Whether a given bank product is an FCVA or NRVA is set by banking regulations that are not part of this corpus.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Hina lives in Dubai, holds a CNIC, and is non-resident for tax year 2027. She pays for a flat in Karachi entirely from her NRVA. The fair market value is Rs. 24,000,000.

1. Rate under Division XVIII: 1.25%.
2. Tax collected: Rs. 24,000,000 x 1.25% = Rs. 300,000.
3. Because she is a non-resident CNIC holder who acquired the flat through an NRVA, the proviso to section 236K(2) makes the Rs. 300,000 a final discharge of tax liability for her as buyer.

Had she paid from an ordinary rupee account instead, the proviso would not apply, and the Rs. 300,000 would be adjustable under section 236K(2).

What about filing a return?

Clause (114A) of Part IV of the Second Schedule says clause (ae) of section 114(1), which requires a return from every person whose income is subject to final taxation, and section 181 on registration, do not apply to a person maintaining an FCVA, FCBVA, NRVA or NRBVA with authorised banks. Its proviso withdraws that relief where the person has Pakistan-source taxable income other than items it lists. One listed item is “capital gain on disposal of immovable property acquired from proceeds of FCVA or NRVA”. Rent from the flat is not in that list.

Common mistakes

• Assuming final means no tax. The 1.25% is still collected; the proviso changes what it discharges.
• Paying partly from another account. The proviso requires the property to be acquired through an FCVA or NRVA. It does not say how a mixed payment is treated.
• Confusing this with the non-ATL relief. Clause (111AC) of the Second Schedule deals with the non-ATL rate and names only POC and NICOP holders.
• Looking for “Roshan Digital” in the law. The Ordinance uses the account names FCVA and NRVA.

What to check in the official text

Read section 236K(1) and (2) with its proviso, Division XVIII of Part IV of the First Schedule, section 169, and clause (114A) of Part IV of the Second Schedule in the official PDF. State Bank of Pakistan foreign exchange regulations defining these accounts are outside this corpus. Provincial stamp duty and registration fees are separate and are not covered here.