Last updated: 7 November 2026 · This page is revised whenever FBR issues a new SRO or STGO.
In short: FBR's electronic invoicing requirement means sales-tax-registered businesses must issue invoices through FBR's digital system rather than only printing them from their own software. Integration happens through a licensed integrator or through PRAL. Non-integration is penalisable under Section 33 of the Sales Tax Act 1990. In most cases your existing POS or ERP can be connected rather than replaced.
If your business is registered for sales tax, the way you issue invoices has changed. This guide covers who it applies to, what actually has to happen to your billing software, what it costs, and what the penalties are — without the jargon.
Electronic invoicing means your sales tax invoices are transmitted to FBR's system at the point they're issued, rather than only being printed locally and reported later. Each invoice receives a reference number from FBR and carries a QR code, so a buyer — or an inspector — can verify it.
The legal framework sits in Chapter XIV of the Sales Tax Rules 2006, from Rule 150Q onward, substituted by SRO 69(I)/2025 on 29 January 2025 and expanded in scope by SRO 709(I)/2025 on 22 April 2025.
If you are registered for sales tax, almost certainly yes. The requirement began with large retailers and was extended during 2025 to cover corporate and non-corporate registered persons generally.
That covers a great many businesses that don't think of themselves as large: distributors, wholesalers, importers, retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, pharmacies and service providers, wherever they hold sales tax registration.
If you're not sure: check your registration status on IRIS, or message us with your details and we'll tell you straight.
A licensed integrator is an entity FBR has authorised to pass invoice data into its system. A business connects either through a licensed integrator or through PRAL.
Under STGO 01 of 2026, a business may engage more than one licensed integrator rather than being tied to a single provider — useful if you run different systems in different parts of the business, or want a fallback.
FBR's February 2026 draft notification proposes replacing Chapter VIIA of the Income Tax Rules 2002 with a framework including a formal integrator licensing regime under Rules 33M–33V, alongside real-time POS integration requirements for specified sectors, QR codes, digital signatures, record retention and audit access. (This is a draft notification at the time of writing and may change before it takes effect.)
Less than most people expect. Your software needs to:
If your system already produces structured invoices, this is a connection job. If it prints from a fixed template with no underlying structure, more work is involved — and that's the honest dividing line between a small project and a larger one.
This is the first question every Pakistani business asks, and rightly. Your counter cannot stop because a line dropped.
A properly built system continues billing locally and queues invoices for transmission when the connection returns. What it must not do is stop, and it must not lose the queue.
This is the part most likely to be done badly by a vendor who hasn't worked in conditions where outages are routine. It's worth asking any integrator exactly how their system behaves during an outage, and testing it before you rely on it.
Within a limited window. Under STGO 01 of 2026, invoices may be edited within 72 hours. Beyond that, Commissioner approval is required. In practice this means errors need catching quickly, which is an argument for getting the configuration right at the start rather than fixing things as you go.
Non-integration is penalisable under Section 33 of the Sales Tax Act 1990.
Beyond the penalty itself there's a practical cost that tends to arrive sooner. Registered buyers increasingly require compliant invoices to claim input tax. Government departments require them from suppliers. A business that can't issue a compliant invoice starts losing the customers who care most about it.
It depends on one thing more than any other: what you're running now.
| Your situation | Scale of work |
|---|---|
| Modern POS or ERP producing structured invoices | A connection job. Smallest and quickest. |
| Older system printing from a fixed template | Moderate — the invoice structure needs building first. |
| Manual or Excel-based invoicing | Larger — you need a billing system before you can integrate one. |
| Multiple branches or counters | Each point of issue needs connecting. |
We quote after looking at your setup rather than from a price list, because a single fixed number for all four situations would be misleading.
We make existing POS and ERP systems FBR-ready and connect them to IRIS — including systems we didn't build. We've already integrated the point-of-sale system of a government supplier and contractor, whose invoices now go through FBR. In most cases you don't need new software. Send us the details of what you're running and we'll tell you honestly whether integration is possible or whether replacement genuinely makes more sense.
FBR's requirements are still developing, with new SROs and STGOs issued regularly. We revise this guide whenever something changes and show the date at the top.
If you spot something out of date, message us on WhatsApp and we'll correct it.
This guide is general information, not tax advice. For your specific obligations, consult your tax consultant or FBR directly.
