What Must a Sales Tax Invoice Contain? Section 23 and Rule 150R Explained

A sales tax invoice is more than a bill. For the buyer it is the evidence that unlocks input tax; for the seller it is a record FBR now sees in real time. An incomplete or incorrect invoice can cost both sides money. Here is what a compliant invoice contains today.

The traditional particulars (section 23)

Section 23(1) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, as amended by the Finance Act 2026, requires a registered person making a taxable or exempt supply to issue a tax invoice — including an advance receipt invoice — bearing a verifiable and unique FBR invoice number (from the date the Board notifies), in Urdu or English, showing:

• the supplier's name, address and registration number (NTN);
• the buyer's name, address and registration number (NTN or CNIC);
• the date of issue;
• a description and the quantity of the goods or services;
• the value excluding sales tax;
• the rate and amount of sales tax;
• the value including sales tax.

Additional particulars for digital invoices (rule 150R(13))

Chapter XIV of the Sales Tax Rules adds particulars for invoices issued through an integrated system, including:

• the FBR invoice number returned when the invoice is reported, and a QR code encoding it;
• the FBR Digital Invoicing logo;
• the HS (PCT) code of each item and the unit of measure FBR prescribes for it;
• the applicable SRO and serial number where a reduced rate or exemption applies;
• the tax period and the software registration number;
• total discount and any sales tax withheld at source;
• further tax, extra tax and FED payable in sales tax mode where they apply, and the invoice reference number for debit and credit notes;
• since SRO 1666(I)/2026, the federal excise duty particulars where FED applies: FED type, rate, price per unit, amount payable, and the SRO or schedule reference and serial number.

Buyers who are not registered

Where a manufacturer or importer supplies an unregistered distributor, the invoice must show the distributor's CNIC or NTN (section 23(1)(b)). Supplies to unregistered persons also generally attract further tax (currently 4%) in addition to sales tax, subject to exclusions.

Invoices beyond ordinary sales

• Exempt supplies — rule 150R(9) already required them to be invoiced through the integrated system; the Finance Act 2026 wrote this into section 23(1).
• Advance receipts — an "advance receipt invoice", in the format the Board notifies, is issued when payment is received before the supply (section 2(1AA)). The Board decides who may issue one, and the FBR-number condition applies from the date it notifies.
• Debit and credit notes — issued electronically and kept for six years.
• Stock transfers to your own warehouse under the same STRN are not supplies; they travel with a prescribed stock transfer note instead (STGO 25 of 2026).

Common mistakes that cost input tax

• Using an HS code that is not on FBR's list, or the wrong unit for that code.
• Wrong sale type or rate — for example applying a reduced rate without the SRO reference.
• A buyer NTN that does not match FBR's records, so the invoice never reaches the buyer's Annex-A.
• Invoices left unreported after an outage, beyond the 24-hour upload window.
• Corrections attempted after the 72-hour window without Commissioner approval.

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