How to Register Your Business, Get an NTN, and Open a Bank Account in Pakistan

At some point, every manufacturer who starts out selling locally runs into the same wall: a buyer asks for an NTN, or a bank refuses to open a current account without a registration certificate, or a shipment needs paperwork the business doesn’t have. Formal registration isn’t bureaucracy for its own sake. It’s what lets you invoice properly, open a business bank account, claim tax refunds on exports, and be taken seriously by buyers who won’t wire money to an unregistered entity.

Here’s what the process actually involves, in order.

1. Decide what kind of business you’re registering

This decision shapes everything that follows.

Sole proprietorship. One owner, no separate legal entity, minimal paperwork. You don’t register with SECP at all — you just need an NTN in your own name. Most small workshops and single-owner exporters start here.

Partnership (AOP). Two or more people running the business together under a partnership deed. This gets registered with the provincial Registrar of Firms, not SECP, and each partner needs their own NTN alongside the partnership’s.

Private limited company. A separate legal entity from its owners, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). This is the route most buyers and banks find easiest to trust, and it’s usually the right call once you’re dealing in larger export volumes or bringing in outside investors.

2. Register your company with SECP (if you’re incorporating)

If you’re forming a private limited company, this happens through SECP’s eServices portal at eservices.secp.gov.pk.

1. Register as a user and get a User ID and PIN for every subscriber (the people forming the company).
2. Reserve your company name and wait for SECP’s availability confirmation.
3. Prepare your Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, along with CNIC or passport copies of all subscribers.
4. Upload the documents, sign the forms electronically using each subscriber’s User ID and PIN, and submit.
5. Pay the incorporation fee — by printed challan at MCB or UBL, by card online, or by online transfer.
6. SECP assigns your case to an officer, and you’ll get email updates as it moves through review.

Once approved, you receive your Certificate of Incorporation. Keep the original safe — you’ll need certified copies of it later for the bank.

3. Get your NTN from FBR

Your National Tax Number is what makes your business visible to the tax system, and it’s required for almost everything that follows: bank accounts, export documentation, sales tax registration.

Registration happens through FBR’s Iris portal at iris.fbr.gov.pk:

1. Go to “Registration for Unregistered Person.”
2. Enter your 13-digit CNIC and a mobile number registered with NADRA.
3. Verify the number with the OTP sent to your phone.
4. Fill in your personal details, address, and source of income.
5. Choose your taxpayer category — individual, AOP, or company.
6. Submit, and your NTN is issued.

If your CNIC and mobile number are properly linked with NADRA, this takes under fifteen minutes. If a company was just incorporated through SECP, the NTN is often generated automatically through SECP’s data-sharing with FBR — worth checking Iris before starting a fresh registration.

4. Register for sales tax, if it applies to you

If you’re manufacturing and exporting rather than just trading locally, sales tax registration is usually worth doing early, since it’s what lets you claim refunds on input tax through FBR. This is also done through Iris, as a separate registration step after your NTN is active. It’s a big enough topic on its own that it deserves its own read — for now, just know it’s the next thing to look into once your NTN is in hand.

5. Open a business bank account

What the bank asks for depends on your business structure:

Sole proprietorship: CNIC, NTN certificate, proof of business activity (invoices, a business letterhead), and a declaration that you’re the sole owner.

Partnership: the partnership deed, CNICs of all partners, the partnership’s NTN, and your registered firm certificate from the Registrar of Firms.

Private limited company: Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, CNICs of all directors, the company’s NTN, and a board resolution authorizing whoever will operate the account.

One detail catches people out: banks generally want a manual certified true copy of your Certificate of Incorporation — physically stamped at an SECP office — not the digital CTC you download from eServices, which is often marked “not for bank account opening.” Get the manual copy before you go to the bank, not after.

Beyond the paperwork, expect the bank to verify your business address in person before releasing the account. Budget one to two weeks from first visit to receiving your checkbook, assuming your documents are complete on the first try.

If you’re exporting, there’s one more step

Once your business is registered and your bank account is open, exporters also need to register on WeBOC (Pakistan’s customs clearance system) and typically join the relevant Chamber of Commerce and Industry — in Sialkot’s case, the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chamber membership isn’t just a formality; it’s often what gets you access to trade fairs, export financing schemes, and the kind of B2B introductions that are hard to get otherwise.

A quick note before you start

Fees, forms, and portal names shift over time, and this is meant as a map of the process, not a substitute for checking the current requirements directly with SECP, FBR, or the bank you’re applying to. If your situation is anything but straightforward — multiple business lines, foreign shareholders, an existing informal business you’re now formalizing — it’s worth having a tax consultant or company secretary walk through it with you once before you file anything.

Once you’re registered, NTN in hand, and your account open, the next practical step is getting found by buyers. List your business on OurSialkot.com and put that registration to work.