PRA's receipt rules for restaurants in Punjab — what a valid bill must show

In August 2026 the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) published guidelines for restaurants, cafés, hotels and food chains across Punjab, and since then it has been sending notices to outlets that are not issuing proper receipts. If you run a food business in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan or anywhere in Punjab, this is what you need to know.

This is a plain summary of what PRA has announced, not tax advice. PRA sets and changes the rules — check its current notification for your own business.

What PRA's E-IMS is

E-IMS is PRA's Electronic Invoice Monitoring System. A restaurant's point of sale software sends each invoice to PRA as it is issued. PRA replies with a PRA invoice number, and the receipt the customer takes away carries that number and a PRA QR code.

The point is simple: every bill reaches PRA when it is made, and the customer can check it.

What a valid receipt must show

According to PRA's guidelines, as reported in August 2026, the digital receipt a customer receives should show:

• the order details;
• the applicable tax rate;
• the amount before tax;
• the total amount;
• the PRA invoice number;
• the PRA QR code.

Customers are also told to check the business's name, address and Punjab tax registration number (PNTN) on the receipt.

What is not a valid receipt

This is the part that changes how many restaurants work. PRA's guidelines say that kitchen orders, unpaid bills, pre-bills and temporary bills must not be handed to customers as receipts, and that the receipt should be issued after payment.

In practice that means:

• The slip that goes to the kitchen is for the kitchen only. It should never double as the customer's bill.
• A "bill" printed for a table to check before paying is not the receipt. The real receipt comes from the system once the money is taken.
• Handwritten totals and bill-book pages are out.

Who is covered

PRA's guidelines address restaurants, cafés, hotels and food chains registered with PRA. Reports differ on the turnover thresholds and exact categories, so if you are unsure whether your outlet is covered, check with PRA directly or ask your tax adviser. PRA has also said customers may complain if a business refuses digital or card payment.

Cash and card rates

Punjab has long charged a different sales tax rate depending on whether the customer pays by cash or by card. Your POS has to:

• charge the right rate for the way the customer pays;
• handle a split payment — part cash, part card — by blending the two rates by how much was paid each way;
• report the tax collected per payment method, because that is how you file it.

If your current system charges one rate whatever the customer pays with, it is either overcharging card customers or undercharging cash ones.

How to get ready

1. Register with PRA and get your E-IMS credentials for each outlet.
2. Choose a POS that files with PRA, prints the PRA number and QR code, and keeps cash and card rates per branch.
3. Separate the kitchen slip from the bill. A kitchen slip should carry no prices at all, so it can never be mistaken for a receipt.
4. Print the receipt after payment, from the POS, every time.
5. Test the first invoice with your supplier and check the QR code scans.

What happens when the internet drops

The guidelines assume the bill reaches PRA when it is made — but in Punjab the connection drops and the light goes. Ask your POS supplier exactly what happens then. The answer you want: the till keeps selling, the sale is stored, and it is filed with PRA the moment the connection comes back, with the PRA number on any reprint. We explain why in POS software that works offline.

How Sellify fits

In Sellify each branch picks its authority — PRA for a Punjab branch, SRB for Sindh, FBR for Islamabad — with its own PNTN and its own cash and card rates. The kitchen slip says KITCHEN PRINT across the top and carries no prices. The receipt prints the authority's number, QR code and logo at the foot.

In the interest of being straight with you: our live filing today is with SRB in Sindh, and the PRA connection is built on the same platform FBR uses and switched on per branch. Read more on our PRA integrated POS page, or see POS software in Lahore.