What must a retailer's sales tax invoice show?

A retailer’s sales tax invoice is governed at two levels. Section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 sets the basic particulars for every registered person. For retailers integrated with FBR’s computerised system, rule 150R of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006 adds a longer list of fields for the electronic invoice printed by the point of sale.

What does section 23 require?

Section 23(1), as amended by section 4(7) of the Finance Act, 2026, requires a registered person making a taxable as well as exempt supply to issue a tax invoice, including an advance receipt invoice, bearing a verifiable and unique FBR invoice number, at the time of supply. The particulars must be in Urdu or English:

Clause	Particular
(a)	Name, address and registration number of the supplier
(b)	Name, address and registration number of the recipient
(c)	Date of issue
(d)	Description and quantity of goods
(e)	Value exclusive of tax
(f)	Amount of sales tax
(g)	Value inclusive of tax

Two provisos substituted by the Finance Act, 2026 say the Board may notify persons allowed to issue an advance receipt invoice, and that the FBR invoice number condition applies “from the time as notified by the Board”. Other provisos let the Board specify modified invoices for different persons or classes, allow only one tax invoice per taxable supply, and require goods that are transported to have the invoice linked with the e-Bilty.

Section 23(2) says no one other than a registered person or a person paying retail tax may issue an invoice under this section. Section 23(6) requires all Tier-1 retailers to integrate their retail outlets with the Board’s computerised system for real-time reporting of sales, from the date and in the manner the Board prescribes.

What must an electronic POS invoice show?

Rule 150Q applies Chapter XIV of the Sales Tax Rules to registered persons the Board notifies for integration. Such an “integrated person” must, under rule 150R(4), use a point of sale that issues invoices in the prescribed format, transmits invoice data to the Board and receives the unique FBR invoice number, and prints a QR code based on that number on the receipt.

Rule 150R(13) lists the particulars of the electronic invoice:

Group	Fields
FBR identifiers	(a) unique FBR invoice number, in the format XXXXXX-DDMMYYHHMMSS-0001; (b) verifiable QR code, 7X7MM; (c) POS or invoicing software registration number; (d) logo of FBR digital invoicing system
Seller	(e) name; (f) address; (g) registration number
Recipient	(h) name; (i) address; (j) registration number
Invoice	(k) date of issue; (l) tax period; (w) invoice reference number
Goods	(m) description; (n) quantity; (x) HS code; (y) unit of measurement
Amounts	(o) value exclusive of tax; (p) sales tax rate; (q) amount of sales tax; (r) sales tax withheld at source; (v) total discount
Other levies	(s) extra tax; (t) further tax; (u) federal excise duty payable in sales tax mode; (z) SRO and serial number applicable

What relief do retailers selling to the public get?

The proviso to rule 150R(13) says fields (s), (t), (u) and (z), that is extra tax, further tax, federal excise duty in sales tax mode, and the SRO and serial number, “may not apply to a retailer issuing electronic invoices to general public”. The relief does not extend to a manufacturer-cum-retailer or an importer-cum-retailer. Every other field in the list stays.

Rule 150S(1) requires the integrated person to issue a real-time verifiable electronic invoice for every taxable supply and to keep it on electronic media for six years. Rule 150R(11) requires a signboard at each notified outlet with the FBR logo, the text “Integrated with FBR” and the POS software registration number.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

An integrated Tier-1 household goods store in Multan sells a steam iron to a walk-in customer for Rs. 5,000 before tax. For this example, assume the general rate of eighteen percent applies.

1. Value exclusive of tax, field (o): Rs. 5,000.
2. Sales tax rate, field (p): 18%.
3. Sales tax, field (q): 18% x Rs. 5,000 = Rs. 900.
4. Value inclusive of tax under section 23(1)(g): Rs. 5,000 + Rs. 900 = Rs. 5,900.

The receipt also carries the FBR invoice number, QR code, software registration number, FBR logo, store details, date, tax period, description, quantity, HS code and unit. Because the buyer is a member of the general public and the store is not a manufacturer-cum-retailer or importer-cum-retailer, fields (s), (t), (u) and (z) may be left off. If the store failed to issue an invoice, serial 2 of section 33 gives 5% x Rs. 900 = Rs. 45, lower than Rs. 25,000, so the penalty would be Rs. 25,000.

Common mistakes

• Printing only a tax-inclusive total. Section 23(1)(e) to (g) and rule 150R(13)(o) and (q) require the value before tax and the tax as separate figures.
• Assuming the retail relief covers every field about taxes. Only (s), (t), (u) and (z) are relieved; the sales tax rate and amount remain.
• Relying on the rules alone. The Sales Tax Rules held here are amended to 30 June 2025, before the Finance Act, 2026 changed section 23.

What to check in the official text

Read sections 23 and 33 (serial 2) of the Sales Tax Act as amended to 30 June 2026, section 4(7) of the Finance Act, 2026, and rules 150Q, 150R and 150S of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006 as amended to 30 June 2025. Check the Board notification fixing when the FBR invoice number condition applies, any notification of modified invoices for retailers, and the notification listing persons required to integrate. These are not held in this corpus.