LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has sent notices to more than 70 hotels, restaurants and marquees in two days for not using its electronic invoicing system. Some restaurants that ignored earlier notices have been fined.
The system is called the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System, or E-IMS. A business above a set sales level must issue every receipt through it. The PRA can then see each sale and the tax charged on it, and compare the total with what the business declares in its tax return.
When you pay a restaurant bill in Punjab, sales tax is added to it. That money is yours until it reaches the government. If the restaurant gives you a hand-written slip, or a printed bill that is not linked to the PRA, there is no record that the tax was ever passed on.
A PRA spokesperson said protecting the tax paid by consumers was the authority’s first duty and that heavy penalties were being imposed for fraud. Businesses must give customers a computerised receipt that can be verified.
The PRA was set up in 2012 to collect sales tax on services. It began monitoring restaurant invoices years ago with a system called RIMS, which later grew into E-IMS and was extended to other services. In December 2024 the authority said about 2,500 restaurants had joined during that financial year.
This year the pressure has grown. In August the PRA chairman announced a zero-tolerance policy on E-IMS. In September the authority set up a digital monitoring cell. It has also reported its highest-ever collection for two months, at Rs54.8 billion.
The PRA did not name the businesses, say how much the fines were, or say which cities they are in. It did not give the sales level above which a business must join. Without those details, customers cannot tell which places are following the rules.
There is also a complaint from the other side. Punjab charges 16% tax on restaurant bills paid in cash and eight percent on bills paid by card or mobile wallet. The lower rate was five percent until recently. Critics in the business press say raising it sends the wrong signal to restaurants that were moving to digital payments.
For now, the simplest check is the customer’s own. Ask for the E-IMS receipt.
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