Vehicle Ownership Transfer in Punjab: Fees, Documents and Process

The Punjab Excise & Taxation Department sets the transfer fee by engine capacity. These are the rates published on the department's own registration page:

A duplicate registration certificate, if the original book is lost, costs PKR 1,300 for both cars and heavy vehicles. Budget separately for any outstanding token tax on the vehicle, which must be clear before the transfer is recorded.

The department lists the following for a transfer of ownership. Bring originals and photocopies of everything:

• Transfer of Ownership (T.O.) form on the prescribed format, signed by the seller
• Photocopy of the seller's CNIC
• Photocopy of the purchaser's CNIC
• Photocopies of the witnesses' CNICs
• Original registration certificate or book, with token tax paid up to date
• Duplicate registration certificate, where the original has been lost

In practice you should also carry the sale agreement or receipt, and — if the car was ever imported — the bill of entry and auction sheet. Excise staff will not always ask for these, but a future buyer will.

1. 1

   Verify the vehicle before you pay for it

   Check the registration online against the provincial database, and physically match the chassis and engine numbers on the car against the registration book. A mismatch here is a reason to walk away, not to negotiate.

2. 2

   Clear outstanding token tax

   The transfer will not go through with arrears on the vehicle. Establish who is paying these before money changes hands — it is normally the seller's responsibility up to the sale date.

3. 3

   Complete and sign the T.O. form

   The seller signs the transfer form. Get this at the point of sale, not later: chasing a signature from someone who has already been paid is the most common way transfers stall.

4. 4

   Pay the transfer fee

   Pay through the ePay Punjab channel or at the designated bank counter, and keep the challan receipt. Paying through official channels gives you a traceable record that a cash payment to an agent does not.

5. 5

   Attend for biometric verification

   Both parties complete biometric verification, which is checked against NADRA records. This is the step that makes it hard for a car to be transferred without the registered owner's genuine consent.

6. 6

   Collect the updated registration

   The department issues the registration in the buyer's name. Follow up if it does not arrive — the transfer is only complete once the record shows your name.

• Buying on an open transfer letter. A signed but unfiled transfer leaves the car in the seller's name indefinitely. It is cheaper today and expensive the first time there is a challan, an accident or a dispute.
• Paying the full amount before verifying the registration. Verification takes minutes and is free.
• Accepting a photocopy of the registration book 'while the original is with the bank'. If the car is under a bank lease, you need a no-objection certificate from that bank, not a reassurance from the seller.
• Not checking that chassis and engine numbers match the book. Tampered numbers make a car effectively unsellable and can make it seizable.
• Letting an agent hold your documents. Hand originals to the department, not to an intermediary.

A car registered in Sindh or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and bought in Punjab does not automatically become a Punjab vehicle. You either keep the existing registration and pay tax in the issuing province, or apply for a transfer of registration to Punjab, which is a longer process than a straightforward change of owner.

This matters when you come to sell. Buyers discount out-of-province cars precisely because of this friction, which is why an otherwise identical car with local registration usually sits higher in the price range.