FBR POS integration in Pakistan — a plain guide for retailers

If you run a large shop, a chain or an outlet in a mall, sooner or later somebody will tell you that you have to "get integrated with FBR". This guide explains what that means in practice, without the jargon, and what it changes at your counter.

This is a plain explanation, not tax advice. The Federal Board of Revenue sets and changes the rules — check the current notification with FBR or your tax adviser for your own business.

What FBR POS integration actually is

Normally a shop rings up sales all month and reports a total in its sales tax return. With POS integration, every single invoice is reported to FBR at the moment it is made.

Your point of sale software sends the invoice to FBR's system as the sale is completed. FBR's system answers with an FBR invoice number, and that number — together with a QR code — is printed on the customer's receipt. The customer can scan the code to check that the sale really was reported.

In short:

1. The customer pays.
2. Your POS sends the invoice to FBR.
3. FBR returns an invoice number.
4. The receipt prints with the FBR number and QR code.

All of that should take a second or two. Nobody at the counter types anything extra.

Who has to integrate

FBR's rules apply to Tier-1 retailers, as the Sales Tax Act defines them. The definition has covered businesses such as large chain stores, outlets in air-conditioned malls, and larger shops — but the exact criteria are set and revised by FBR, so do not rely on a list you read on a vendor's website (including this one).

Two other points that confuse people:

• Services in Islamabad — sales tax on services in the Islamabad Capital Territory is collected by FBR, so an Islamabad restaurant deals with FBR rather than a provincial authority.
• Provincial authorities — restaurants and services in Punjab file with the Punjab Revenue Authority, and in Sindh with the Sindh Revenue Board. They run their own invoice systems with their own numbers and QR codes.

A business with branches in more than one province can therefore be filing with two or three authorities at once. That is normal, and your POS should handle it per branch.

What you need from FBR

Before any software can report your sales, FBR has to know about your counters:

• Your business is registered for sales tax (NTN and STRN).
• Each counter (till) is registered with FBR and gets a POS ID.
• You receive the credentials your software uses to send invoices.

Your POS supplier should then enter those details into each branch and ring a test sale with you. Ask to see the first receipt with the FBR number on it before you start trading on it.

What goes on the receipt

An integrated receipt normally shows everything an ordinary tax invoice shows — your business name, NTN and STRN, the items, the tax and the total — plus the FBR invoice number and the FBR QR code.

The QR code is the part customers notice. It is also the part tax inspectors look for, because a receipt without it from a business that should be integrated is easy to spot.

Do you need new hardware?

Usually not. Integration is a software job: the POS talks to FBR over the internet. Your existing receipt printer prints the QR code like any other image. What you need is:

• POS software that supports FBR integration;
• an internet connection at the counter (see below for what happens when it drops);
• a thermal receipt printer — 80mm is the common size.

What happens when the internet goes down?

This is the question to ask any POS supplier, because in Pakistan the connection will drop.

A good system keeps selling: it takes the money, prints the receipt and stores the sale. When the connection comes back, the sale is sent and the FBR number is attached to it — and any reprint of that receipt carries the number. A bad system either stops selling (you lose the customer) or quietly never reports the sale (you get the problem later).

Read more in why your POS has to work offline.

Questions to ask your POS supplier

1. Is your FBR integration live with real customers, or only built? Ask for a real receipt.
2. Can each branch file with a different authority? You may need FBR in one city and PRA or SRB in another.
3. What happens when FBR's server does not answer? The sale must still go through, and the unfiled invoice must be visible so somebody can send it again.
4. Does the tax report match what was filed? Your monthly return and FBR's record of your invoices should agree to the rupee.
5. Who enters the credentials and tests the first invoice? It should be done with you, on a real sale.
6. Can I edit the tax rate myself? Rates change. You should not have to wait for a software update.

How Sellify handles it

Sellify sets the tax authority on each branch, with that branch's own NTN, STRN and rates. When a branch files, the invoice is sent as the sale is completed, and the authority's number and QR code print at the foot of the receipt with its logo. An invoice the authority did not answer is shown on the Orders screen and can be sent again with one tap — the sale itself is never lost.

To be straightforward about where things stand: restaurants file with SRB through Sellify every day, while the FBR and PRA connections are built on the same platform and switched on per branch. See FBR integrated POS for the details, or book a demo and we will walk you through it on your own products.