Pakistan Tourist Guides Act, 1976

This Act regulates and controls the profession of tourist guides across Pakistan. Section 3 requires the Federal Government to set up a Tourist Guide Regulatory Committee, which advises the government on implementing the Act, helps prepare a code of conduct for guides, and performs other functions the government assigns.

Section 4 requires anyone wanting to work as a tourist guide to apply to the Federal Government for a licence, which is issued after the applicant passes prescribed tests and pays the prescribed fee. The Federal Government maintains a register of all licensed guides' names and addresses. A licence is valid for three years and can be renewed for further three-year periods on payment of the prescribed fee.

Section 5 requires the Federal Government, in consultation with the Committee, to prescribe a code of conduct for guides. Section 6 lets the Federal Government suspend or cancel a guide's licence for violating licence terms or the code of conduct, but only after giving the guide a chance to respond to the proposed action; a guide can appeal a decision by a subordinate officer to the Federal Government, whose decision is final.

Section 7 makes it illegal to act as a tourist guide without a licence. Section 8 lets the Federal Government fix, by Gazette notification, the maximum rates guides can charge for their services, and bars guides from overcharging; guides employed on fixed salary by a licensed travel agency cannot separately charge tourists a fee. Section 9 sets the penalty for operating without a valid licence, or otherwise violating the Act, rules, or code of conduct, as a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees; offences are triable summarily and require a written complaint from the Federal Government.

This is an older law from 1976; the five-hundred-rupee maximum fine reflects 1970s-era values and should be checked against the current official text for any updated figures.