Questions answered on this page
- What is the penalty for not issuing a PRA tax invoice?
- What is the penalty for not complying with the electronic invoicing system?
- What is the penalty for tampering with eIMS?
- What do the three penalties look like side by side?
- Why did the news report fines of Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million?
- Can PRA seal a business for not using eIMS?
- Is the penalty higher for a repeat offence?
- Are handwritten receipts allowed in Punjab?
- Who do these penalties apply to?
- How do I avoid a PRA penalty?
What is the penalty for not issuing a PRA tax invoice?
From 1 July 2026 the penalty for failing to issue a tax invoice is Rs 500,000 for the first default and Rs 1 million for each later default. Before that date the amounts were Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000.
The change was made by the Punjab Finance Act 2026, which amended the penalty table in section 48, sub section (2), of the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012. At serial number 17 it replaced the words twenty and fifty thousand with five hundred and one million. That is a rise of twenty five times on a first default.
What is the penalty for not complying with the electronic invoicing system?
The penalty for failing to comply with the electronic invoicing system is now up to Rs 500,000. It was previously up to Rs 100,000 with a minimum of Rs 25,000.
This is serial number 20 of the same table. The Finance Act replaced the phrase one hundred thousand rupees, but not less than twenty five, with five hundred. The offence is separate from failing to issue an invoice, so a business that is not connected to eIMS at all can be exposed under more than one entry.
What is the penalty for tampering with eIMS?
Intentionally damaging or interfering with the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System, or obstructing the transmission of invoice data, carries a penalty of Rs 500,000, raised from Rs 100,000.
This is serial number 16. The description of the offence is taken from KPMG's July 2026 brief on the provincial tax laws, since the amending Act itself only states which words were replaced.
What do the three penalties look like side by side?
All three were raised on the same date, 1 July 2026, and the largest rise was for failing to issue an invoice.
| Serial number | Offence | Before 1 July 2026 | From 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Damaging or interfering with eIMS, or obstructing invoice data | Rs 100,000 | Rs 500,000 |
| 17 | Failing to issue a tax invoice | Rs 20,000 first default, Rs 50,000 later defaults | Rs 500,000 first default, Rs 1 million later defaults |
| 20 | Failing to comply with the electronic invoicing system | Up to Rs 100,000, not less than Rs 25,000 | Up to Rs 500,000 |
Why did the news report fines of Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million?
On 10 August 2026 several Pakistani outlets reported that businesses failing to issue eIMS receipts face fines of Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million. None of the reports we read cited a notification number or a section of law, and the lower figure does not match the Rs 500,000 in the Finance Act.
The upper figure of Rs 1 million does match the law: it is the penalty for a repeated failure to issue an invoice. We could not find a published instrument that contains the Rs 400,000 figure. It may come from a PRA notification or internal direction that has not been published online, so we are not saying the reports are wrong. We are saying that the figure you can point to in the Gazette is Rs 500,000.
Can PRA seal a business for not using eIMS?
The August 2026 reports said that businesses which repeatedly break the rules can be sealed for up to one month. We could not find that period in a published instrument, so treat the one month figure as reported rather than confirmed.
What the Act itself shows is that PRA has recovery powers and that the law punishes anyone who violates an embargo placed on providing a service in connection with recovery of tax. That is serial number 9 of the penalty table. So closure of a business is within what the law contemplates, even though we cannot show you the source of the one month limit.
Is the penalty higher for a repeat offence?
Yes. For failing to issue an invoice the law sets Rs 500,000 for the first default and Rs 1 million for later ones. The Act as PRA publishes it also has a general rule that a person who repeats an offence pays twice the penalty provided for it.
The general rule is serial number 13 of the table. We read it in the copy of the Act on PRA's own site, which is the original text, so check whether it has since been amended before relying on it.
Are handwritten receipts allowed in Punjab?
According to reports on 10 August 2026, PRA prohibited handwritten and informal receipts at restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and marriage halls, and required receipts to be issued through eIMS. The reports said kitchen order slips and unpaid bills cannot stand in for a tax receipt.
The same reports said a valid receipt carries the business name, address, receipt number and the PRA QR code. The obligation to be on eIMS is older than the reports: the Punjab Electronic Invoice Monitoring System Rules date from 2019.
Who do these penalties apply to?
They apply to service providers in Punjab who are required to use eIMS, which means turnover of Rs 6 million or above for restaurant services and Rs 10 million or above for all other services.
The two thresholds come from a PRA notification dated 9 July 2024, published in the Punjab Gazette on 15 July 2024, which amended rule 3 of the 2019 Rules. Our guide to who has to integrate with PRA goes through it by business type.
How do I avoid a PRA penalty?
Issue every receipt through eIMS, so that each one carries a receipt number and QR code that PRA's records will confirm. A receipt that PRA's verification page cannot find is the thing an inspector looks for.
- Register each branch with its own POS ID and access token.
- Test in the sandbox before switching to production.
- Stop issuing order slips or estimates as if they were the bill.
- Check a few of your own receipts on PRA's page every week.
Our guide to PRA eIMS setup covers the steps.
Sources
- Punjab Finance Act 2026, Act L of 2026, Punjab Gazette of 1 July 2026
- KPMG, A Brief of Provincial Tax Laws 2026
- Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012, Chapter VIII, as published by PRA
- Notification 109 of 2024, amendment to rule 3 of the eIMS Rules 2019
- ProPakistani, report of 10 August 2026
- The Nation, report of 10 August 2026
We read the amending Act in the Punjab Gazette. The consolidated penalty table that PRA publishes online is older than these amendments, so confirm the current wording with PRA or your adviser before relying on it in a dispute. General information, not tax advice.