Tech Desk 
Jul 20, 2025
The Islamabad Excise and Taxation Department has taken a variety of digital initiatives to curb the hassle involved in the vehicle registration, transfer of ownership, and token tax payment process for the citizenry of Islamabad.
The Excise and Taxation Director Bilal Azam told APP that the primary focus is to ease, expedite, and provide transparency to the vehicle-related services provided by the Excise and Taxation.
Citizens simply need to download the City Islamabad App, which enables citizens to pay a token tax or apply for a vehicle ownership transfer from the safety of their own location.
One key feature at the department is the introduction of personalised number plates. This will be the first introduction of personalised number plates in Pakistan and provides citizens a new level of ownership over their number plates.
The number plates will belong to the owner of the plate and not the vehicle itself. Once a car is sold, the plate simply returns to the seller, and a new plate is created for the buyer.
The department will soon swap physical smartcards with a digital registration card, which will be housed under a user account, like NADRA's digital CNIC, under a Pak-ID account.
Moreover, the biometric verification for transfer of ownership will also be digitised and mobile in the near future, enabling respective owners to complete their vehicle ownership and registration digitally.
Azam said vehicles inactive for years are now being identified and fined; penalties range from 50% to 100%, depending on how long taxes have gone unpaid. To encourage timely payments, a 10% rebate is being offered on token tax paid during July.
