Pakistan Sales Tax Invoice: What It Must Contain

Who has to issue a tax invoice

A tax invoice is the document a sales-tax-registered person issues when making a taxable supply. It is what the buyer uses to support a claim for input tax, and it is what the seller keeps as the record of tax charged. A business that is not registered for sales tax does not issue a sales tax invoice and cannot charge sales tax, though it may still issue an ordinary invoice or bill for payment.

This guide describes what the law lists and how the common formats work. It is general information, not tax advice. Rates, formats and procedures change often, so confirm the current position with FBR or a tax professional before you rely on it.

The particulars the law lists

Section 23(1) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 requires a registered person making a taxable supply to issue a serially numbered invoice at the time of supply. The invoice must show the following.

Particulars listed in section 23(1) and where they go in the invoice generator
Required item	What to write	In the generator
Supplier’s name, address and registration number	Your business name, address, STRN and NTN	Business details, saved in your browser
Recipient’s name, address and registration number	The customer’s name, address and registration number if they have one	Client details
Date of issue	The date you issue the invoice	Invoice date
Serial number	A running number, never reused	Invoice number
Description and quantity of goods	What was sold and how many	Line items
Value exclusive of tax	The price before tax, after any discount	Subtotal
Amount of sales tax	The tax charged on that value	Tax row
Value inclusive of tax	The total payable	Total, also written in words

The statute refers to a registration number in general terms. In practice, businesses print both their National Tax Number and their Sales Tax Registration Number, and the generator has a field for each.

NTN and STRN: what each one is

NTN is the National Tax Number, the identifier for a taxpayer registered with FBR for income tax.
STRN is the Sales Tax Registration Number, the identifier a business receives when it registers for sales tax.
A business registered for sales tax usually has both, and prints both on its invoices. Check your registration certificate for the exact numbers.

A worked example

The example on the invoice generator page lists three lines and adds sales tax at 18%. The subtotal is PKR 74,100.00, the tax is PKR 13,338.00 and the total is PKR 87,438.00. The total is also written in words: Eighty seven thousand four hundred and thirty eight rupees only.

Notice that the tax is worked out on the value after any discount, so a discount lowers the tax as well. Check that your own invoices follow the same order, because charging tax on the pre-discount price overstates the tax.

Invoice generatorBuild your own invoice with NTN and STRN fields and the total in words.

Retail and point-of-sale invoices

For retailers integrated with FBR’s point-of-sale system, the invoice follows a standard format issued under the first proviso to section 23(1). The format carries the business’s STRN and NTN, and FBR has required the buyer’s name to be recorded when the invoice value is over Rs 100,000, according to reporting from 2021. Retailers in the integrated scheme should use the certified system and the prescribed format.

Electronic invoicing and integration

FBR has been moving registered businesses towards real-time electronic invoicing. A notification issued in January 2025, SRO 69(I)/2025, substituted the chapter of the Sales Tax Rules that covers electronic invoicing and integration. Under it, integrated suppliers issue verifiable electronic invoices through a system connected to FBR’s computerised system, containing the information that section 23 requires.

The practical point is that a PDF made in a browser is a formatted document, not an integrated invoice. If your business falls under the integration rules, you must issue invoices through the connected system. A generator can still be useful for quotations, estimates, receipts and invoices for work outside the scheme.

The tax rate

The standard federal rate of sales tax on goods is 18%, according to compliance guides that track the Finance Acts. Services are taxed under provincial laws, with their own rates and rules, and some goods are exempt, zero-rated or taxed at a different rate. The invoice generator applies the rate you type and does not decide which rate applies to your sale, so confirm the rate for your goods or service before you issue an invoice.

Recent and upcoming changes

Commentary on the Finance Act 2026 reports that section 23 has been amended so that registered persons must issue invoices bearing a unique FBR invoice number, with the numbering condition applying from a date to be notified. Treat this as a reason to check the current text of section 23 and FBR’s notifications, not as settled advice, because it could not be confirmed from the Gazette when this guide was written.

Common mistakes

Leaving out the buyer’s registration number when the buyer is registered and wants to claim input tax.
Reusing or skipping invoice numbers, which breaks the serial sequence.
Charging tax on the price before the discount.
Using the wrong rate for the goods or for a service.
Printing a tax invoice when the business is not registered for sales tax.
Issuing a quotation or estimate as if it were a tax invoice.

Common questions

Is an invoice from this site an FBR-integrated invoice?

No. It is a formatted PDF made in your browser, with the NTN, STRN and tax rate you type. It is not connected to FBR and has no fiscal invoice number. If you must use an integrated system, use that system.

Do I need both NTN and STRN on an invoice?

A business registered for sales tax normally prints both. The statute refers to a registration number, and FBR’s point-of-sale format requires both.

What if my customer has no registration number?

The invoice still shows the customer’s name and address. Whether a buyer’s identity number is needed can depend on the type of sale and on FBR’s current rules, so check them for your case.

Does the generator choose the tax rate?

No. It applies the rate you enter and calculates the amounts. Deciding which rate applies is your responsibility, with a tax adviser if needed.

Sources

Reviewed on 18 Oct 2026 against the published sources below. Laws and prices change, so check the current position before you rely on a figure.

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This guide is general information, not legal, financial or religious advice. Figures are estimates worked out from the sources above and may differ from what applies to you. See the disclaimer. Found a mistake? Tell us.