How to Register a Charity With the Sindh Charity Commission: Rs 10,000 Fee

Every charity, trust, NGO or welfare society working in Sindh must register with the Sindh Charity Commission before it collects donations. You apply online at mis.charitycommission.sindh.gov.pk. The fee is Rs 10,000, paid at a National Bank or State Bank branch on a 32-A challan.

The rule comes from the Sindh Charities Registration and Regulation Act, 2019. The Sindh Assembly passed it on 22 November 2019, and section 9 says a charity cannot collect charitable funds unless it is registered under it. That applies even if your trust or society is already registered under another law.

We read the Act, the commission's website, its Urdu and English user guide from August 2020 and the live sign-up form on 3 October 2026. The fee and bank details below are what the form shows. We did not submit an application.

Who has to register with the Sindh Charity Commission

Any non-profit body set up for a charitable purpose in Sindh must register. That includes trusts, societies, Section 42 companies, welfare agencies and local branches of foreign NGOs. Your existing registration under another law does not exempt you. It is a condition of applying.

The Act counts these as charities:

• Organisations registered under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance, 1961.
• Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Non-profit companies registered under the Companies Act, 2017.
• Public or private trusts.
• Local branches of foreign non-profit organisations, except those working under a treaty or protocol with Pakistan.

Charitable purposes in the Act include poverty relief, education, health, community development, arts and heritage, human rights, religious and racial harmony, and the environment. The commission can add other purposes, so ask it if your work is not on the list.

Register under a law first, then with the commission

The commission does not create your legal body. Its form asks which law your charity is registered under, its licence number and the dates. So a new group first registers as a trust, society, welfare agency or company, then applies to the commission with those papers.

The sign-up form offers five choices: Companies Act 2017, Societies Registration Act 1860, Trusts Act 1882, the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance 1961, or any other law. Each route has its own office and paperwork. A not-for-profit company is the route if you need to register a company with SECP.

Pick the route before you collect a single rupee. Section 13 also requires anyone running a public appeal to file a declaration with the commission before the collection starts.

The fee is Rs 10,000 for either category

The live form says every non-profit pays Rs 10,000, whichever category it picks. You pay on a 32-A challan at a designated National Bank of Pakistan or State Bank of Pakistan branch, into the Social Welfare head of account. The Sindh Social Welfare Department's FAQ also gives Rs 10,000.

Keep the paid challan. The form asks for the challan number, bank, branch name, branch code and date of deposit, and it wants a scan of the paid copy. A group working in only one tehsil fits neither category on the form, so email the commission before paying.

Apply online in six steps

You start with an "Authorisation to Register" form, which creates a login under the CNIC of the person applying for the charity. Then you fill in the charity's details, trustees, finances and declaration, and submit. Each upload must be a JPG, PNG or PDF under 1 MB.

1. Pay the Rs 10,000 fee on a 32-A challan and scan the paid copy.
2. Get an authorisation letter on the charity's letterhead, signed by its head or a trustee, or a resolution of its board.
3. Open the sign-up page, enter the charity's name, the law it is registered under, its category and the applicant's CNIC.
4. Verify the mobile number and email with the codes sent to them. Both must be registered in the applicant's own name.
5. Log in with your CNIC and the password you are emailed. Fill in basic information, registered office address with proof of ownership or tenancy, trustees, employees, income, assets and liabilities.
6. Tick the declaration and submit. Your request shows as "Under Submission", then "Verified", and the certificate appears once approved.

The user guide shows trustee entries asking for each person's CNIC, position, occupation and a short note on experience. Have those ready for every trustee before you start, because the form will not save without the starred fields.

What the law expects after registration

Registration is not the end. Trustees must keep daily accounts, prepare an annual statement and tell the commission about any change to the charity's constitution. If donations pass Rs 50,000 in a calendar month, they must go into a dedicated bank account reported to the commission.

The penalties are real. The commission can suspend or cancel a registration and fine a charity up to Rs 1 million after a hearing. Breaking the Act can also bring six months to one year in jail and a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000, tried by a magistrate.

If the Director General refuses your registration, the reasons must be written down. You can appeal to the commission within 30 days of the order. Donors will also ask about tax: an approved charity status for donations that reduce income tax is a separate FBR process.

Common questions

Can I register a charity with the Sindh Charity Commission online?

Yes. The whole application runs on the commission's portal. Only the fee is paid in person, at a bank branch.

How much is the Sindh Charity Commission registration fee?

Rs 10,000, whether you choose Category A or Category B. The live sign-up form and the Social Welfare Department's FAQ both say so.

My trust is already registered. Do I still need this?

Yes. Section 9 of the Act says every charity must register with the commission whatever other law it is registered under.

How do I check if a charity is registered in Sindh?

Use the "Search for a Charity" page on the commission's portal. The commission also publishes a list of proscribed organisations on its website.

What happens if we collect donations without registering?

Section 9 bars it. Breaking the Act can mean six months to a year in jail and a fine of at least Rs 50,000.

Where is the Sindh Charity Commission office?

At the Directorate General of Social Welfare, first floor, Board of Revenue Building, Sindh Secretariat Block 79, Saddar, Karachi. The email is charitycommission@sindh.gov.pk.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 3 October 2026. We read the Sindh Charity Commission website, the Sindh Charities Registration and Regulation Act, 2019 (Sindh Act XVI of 2019) that it hosts, its user guide dated 7 August 2020, and the live sign-up and charity search pages on its portal. We also read the Sindh Social Welfare Department's FAQ. The portal's sign-up page returned a server error over plain http that day, but loaded over https. We could not find a published notification of the final registration deadline under section 9, so we do not give one. We did not submit an application.