Activities related to non-custom paid vehicles have intensified across Malakand Division in the wake of the recent imposition of taxes, with registration drives and record-compilation efforts accelerating in several districts.

Vehicle owners are being instructed to complete the registration of their non-custom paid vehicles by 30 September, while reports of possible action against those who miss the deadline continue to circulate.

Despite the growing urgency on the ground, no clear and formal government notification or detailed official announcement has yet been issued. Authorities have not publicly outlined the exact registration procedure, applicable fees, required documentation, or the specific legal consequences of non-compliance. This absence of an official roadmap has left many owners in a state of confusion.

The issue of non-custom paid vehicles has long been a sensitive and complex matter in Malakand Division. For years, local mechanisms were used to maintain informal records and facilitate limited registration of such vehicles. Successive governments have also attempted to compile comprehensive data with the aim of eventually bringing these vehicles into the formal tax net. In 2024, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Excise and Taxation Department reported that it had collected details of more than 110,000 non-custom paid vehicles operating in Malakand Division and the merged districts. The exercise included recording owners’ particulars along with engine and chassis numbers so that a coherent legal and taxation policy could be developed in the future.

Local residents say the broader imposition of taxes in the division has already generated considerable unease. The sudden intensification of registration-related activity, coupled with the lack of transparent official guidance, has further heightened anxiety among vehicle owners. Many fear unexpected financial burdens or punitive measures based on incomplete or unofficial information. Citizens have therefore demanded that the provincial government immediately clarify the new registration framework, confirm the final deadline, specify the fees involved, and clearly state what legal action will follow if vehicles remain unregistered.

It is worth recalling that on 17 July, K-P Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi announced the abolition of provincial taxes in the merged districts and Malakand Division. That announcement was widely welcomed at the time. However, discussions and disagreements over taxation matters between federal and provincial authorities have continued, leaving the overall policy environment unsettled.