Pakistan
FBR digital invoicing and ERP software for Pakistan
FBR digital invoicing is live for all sales-tax registered persons. Get the IRN and QR back before you issue, handle the federal and provincial split, and keep the filer status straight.
Compliance summary
Mandatory now- Tax authority
- Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with provincial revenue authorities for services
- E-invoicing
- Mandatory — FBR digital invoicing via licensed integrator or PRAL
- VAT rate
- 18%
- Currency
- PKR
Last reviewed . Rates and deadlines change — confirm the current position with the authority above before you act on it.
What your invoice must carry
What FBR returns before your invoice is valid
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IRN and QR round trip
The invoice is transmitted in real time through a licensed integrator or PRAL and comes back with an FBR invoice reference number and QR code before it may be issued.
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Buyer NTN or CNIC and HS codes
Payloads carry buyer identification, HS codes and sale-type scenario codes. Missing fields are rejections, not warnings.
-
Federal goods, provincial services
Goods invoiced under FBR at 18%; services under SRB, PRA, KPRA or BRA at 13–16%, with separate registrations, separate returns and no cross-input adjustment. One invoice can span both.
-
Filer status at invoice time
Withholding and the 4% further tax on unregistered buyers depend on Active Taxpayer List status, which has to be resolved per counterparty when the invoice is raised.
The phases have already landed
The turnover-based rollout ran through the end of 2025: public companies, importers and the largest taxpayers first, then successively smaller bands, with the remaining registered persons brought in by 31 December 2025. Deadlines in Pakistan have moved more than once, so check the current position on the FBR site rather than trusting any vendor page, including this one.
What does not move is the shape of the obligation: real-time transmission through an integrator, an IRN and QR returned before issue, and retry handling for when that round trip fails mid-shift.
Retail has a second regime
Tier-1 retailers have separate point-of-sale integration obligations, with every receipt carrying an FBR invoice number and verifiable QR code, and real consequences for non-integration — a substantial cut to input tax adjustment, penalties, and premises sealing.
A retail chain therefore needs both paths working at once, and a till that keeps selling when the connection drops.
Withholding is not an afterthought
Sales-tax withholding on the buyer side, income-tax withholding by section and filer status, and the further tax on unregistered buyers all resolve at the moment of the transaction. Computing them later, from exports, is how reconciliations start disagreeing.
Common questions
Is FBR digital invoicing mandatory in Pakistan?
Yes, for sales-tax registered persons. The turnover-based rollout ran through the end of 2025 — public companies, importers and the largest taxpayers first, then successively smaller bands, with the remaining registered persons brought in by 31 December 2025. Deadlines in Pakistan have moved more than once, so check the current position on the FBR site rather than trusting any vendor page.
What does the FBR return before an invoice is valid?
The invoice is transmitted in real time through a licensed integrator or PRAL and comes back with an FBR invoice reference number and QR code before it may be issued. Payloads carry buyer NTN or CNIC, HS codes and sale-type scenario codes, and missing fields are rejections rather than warnings.
How do federal and provincial sales tax interact in Pakistan?
Goods are invoiced under the FBR at 18%, while services fall under the provincial authorities — SRB, PRA, KPRA or BRA — at 13 to 16%, with separate registrations, separate returns and no cross-input adjustment. A single invoice can span both, which is why one tax-rate field is the wrong model.
What is filer status and why does it matter at invoice time?
Withholding and the 4% further tax on unregistered buyers depend on the counterparty's Active Taxpayer List status, which has to be resolved per counterparty at the moment the invoice is raised. Computing it later from exports is how reconciliations start disagreeing.
Do Tier-1 retailers have a separate obligation?
Yes. Tier-1 retailers have separate point-of-sale integration obligations, with every receipt carrying an FBR invoice number and a verifiable QR code. Non-integration carries real consequences — a substantial cut to input tax adjustment, penalties, and premises sealing — so a retail chain needs both paths working at once.
Rates, regimes and deadlines in this summary change, and many countries are actively legislating on e-invoicing. This is general information, not tax or legal advice — confirm the current position with the authority named above or with your tax adviser before you rely on it.
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