State Bank Removes NTN Requirement for Opening Bank Account

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked all banks in the country to not to refuse any customer for opening of bank account or any other banking services if they don’t have NTN (National Tax Numbers).

State Bank said that it had received certain complaints that several banks are not opening bank account due to unavailability of National Tax Number (NTN), which is mainly issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Sales tax registration or NTN are included in the list of minimum documents to be obtained from sole proprietors along with other documents.

“Requirement of NTN should not be the reason for refusal of banking services to the customers, especially, where bank account is a prerequisite for obtaining NTN as per the FBR”s criteria,” the SBP said.

Banks should facilitate their customers in opening bank accounts and subsequently obtain NTN when issued by the FBR, the circular added.