IT is strongly suggested that the govern-ment and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should seriously consider restoring the real estate transaction mechanism that had remained in practice until 2016, which ensured that almost the entire consideration amount of a property transaction was routed through formal banking channels, making deals trans-parent, secure, well-documented and largely free from cash-handling risks.

Unfortunately, the present system, based on FBR valuation tables, has created a significant loophole whereby only the amount reflected in the official valuation is paid through banking instruments, such as pay orders, while the substantial balance, owing to the wide gap between FBR valuations and actual market prices in major cities, is commonly settled in cash. This practice not only undermines transparency and documentation, but also facilitates tax leakage, encourages the circulation of undocumented money, and exposes both buyers and sellers to unnecessary financial and legal risks.

Urgent measures should be taken either to align official valuation tables with realistic market values, or to reintroduce a transaction framework that mandates the entire payment through banking channels, thereby ensuring transparency, strengthening revenue collection, curbing the cash economy, and promoting a more credible and efficient real estate sector across Pakistan. This is what we need.

Mumraiz Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026