What must a sales tax invoice issued by a wholesaler or distributor show?

A sales tax invoice is the document that carries tax from one business to the next. The seller’s invoice is the buyer’s evidence for input tax under section 7(2), so a wholesaler’s invoice has to satisfy section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 for its customers as well as for itself.

What particulars does section 23(1) require?

Section 23(1) requires a registered person making a taxable supply to issue a serially numbered tax invoice at the time of supply of goods, in Urdu or English, containing:

Clause	Particular
(a)	Name, address and registration number of the supplier
(b)	Name, address and registration number of the recipient, and, for supplies by a manufacturer or importer to an unregistered distributor, the NIC or NTN of that distributor
(c)	Date of issue of invoice
(d)	Description and quantity of goods (for textile yarn and fabric, including count, denier and construction)
(e)	Value exclusive of tax
(f)	Amount of sales tax
(g)	Value inclusive of tax

What did the Finance Act, 2026 change?

The Finance Act, 2026 substituted the opening words so that a registered person making a taxable “as well as exempt supply” shall issue a tax invoice, including an advance receipt invoice, “bearing a verifiable and unique FBR invoice number”. The consolidated text as printed keeps the older words “supply shall issue a serially numbered tax invoice” after the new expression, so the sentence does not read cleanly. The official PDF should be checked on this point.

Two new provisos to clause (b) say that the Board may notify persons allowed to issue an advance receipt invoice within the notified system, and that the verifiable and unique FBR invoice number condition applies from the time the Board notifies. An Explanation defining “ordinary consumer” still sits under clause (b), although the current clause does not use that term.

What other rules apply to the invoice?

The provisos after clause (g) add three rules:

1. The Board may notify modified invoices for different persons or classes.
2. “Not more than one tax invoice shall be issued for a taxable supply.”
3. Added by the Finance Act, 2025: where goods are transported or supplied, the registered person shall ensure the generation and linkage of the tax invoice with the e-Bilty generated under section 40C of the Sales Tax Act and section 83C of the Customs Act, 1969.

Section 40C lets the Board specify persons or goods for electronic monitoring or tracking of production, sales, clearances and stocks, and sub-section (4) applies section 83C of the Customs Act mutatis mutandis. Section 83C(1) of the Customs Act (amended to 30 June 2025) requires any consignor, transporter, supplier or recipient causing inland movement of goods to electronically generate, carry, display or validate an e-bilty through the Cargo Tracking System.

Section 23(2) says no person other than a registered person or a person paying retail tax shall issue an invoice. Sub-sections (3) to (6) cover electronic invoices, the Board’s power over issuance and authentication, and integration with the Board’s computerised system; the related page on electronic invoicing covers those.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Hamza Traders, a registered distributor of detergents in Hyderabad, delivers 200 cartons by truck to Bilal Store, a registered retailer. The amounts are invented. The example assumes the goods are taxed at the standard rate in section 3(1), “eighteen per cent of the value”, with no special rate or exemption applying.

Invoice field	Entry
Supplier (a)	Hamza Traders, its address and registration number
Recipient (b)	Bilal Store, its address and registration number
Date (c)	14 October 2026
Description and quantity (d)	Detergent powder 1 kg, 200 cartons
Value exclusive of tax (e)	Rs. 400,000
Sales tax (f)	Rs. 400,000 x 18% = Rs. 72,000
Value inclusive of tax (g)	Rs. 400,000 + Rs. 72,000 = Rs. 472,000

Because the goods move by truck, the third proviso requires the invoice to be linked to the e-Bilty. Hamza Traders issues one invoice for this supply, not a second one for the same delivery.

What if the invoice is missing a particular?

For the buyer, section 7(2)(i) requires a tax invoice in its name and bearing its registration number before input tax is deducted. For a seller that supplies unregistered distributors, section 8(1)(m) disallows input tax attributable to those supplies, on a pro-rata basis, where the invoices do not bear the recipient’s NIC or NTN as section 23 requires.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out the buyer’s registration number. Clause (b) requires it, and the buyer needs it under section 7(2)(i).
• Issuing a second invoice for the same supply. The second proviso to clause (g) forbids it.
• Treating e-Bilty as a transporter’s matter only. The third proviso places the linkage duty on the registered person supplying the goods.
• Assuming exempt supplies need no invoice. The Finance Act, 2026 wording refers to taxable “as well as exempt” supply.

What to check in the official text

Read sections 3, 7, 8, 23 and 40C of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 as amended to 30 June 2026, and section 83C of the Customs Act, 1969. The date from which the verifiable FBR invoice number applies, any modified invoice formats, and e-Bilty procedures are set by Board notifications that this site does not hold.