If you run a restaurant, salon, cafe or another service business in Punjab, the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) wants your sales reported to it as they happen. This sits under the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012, and the tool for it is PRA's electronic invoice monitoring. This guide explains what it means for your counter, without the legal language.
What PRA digital invoicing is
Punjab charges sales tax on services, and PRA collects it. In the past, PRA only saw your sales later, in your return. Digital invoicing gives it a live view instead. When you make a sale, your system sends the invoice to PRA, PRA records it, and the receipt your customer gets carries a QR code they can scan to confirm the sale was reported. The tax authority now has the invoice at the moment it is issued, not weeks afterward.
Who has to report
PRA has focused first on the sectors where cash sales are common, and restaurants are the largest group brought in so far. Salons, beauty parlours, caterers and similar service providers follow the same pattern. As a rule of thumb, service businesses registered with PRA that cross the turnover threshold are expected to be integrated. Your exact position depends on your sector and turnover, and PRA's notifications set it out. If you are registered and taking payments over the counter, you should assume you are in scope.
What changes for you
Less than owners fear. You still take the order and take payment as normal. The difference is that the invoice is created through a connected system, so it is sent to PRA and comes back with the QR code before it prints. Your customer sees a proper tax invoice with that code. For card payments at restaurants there is a separate Punjab tax rate to be aware of, which is covered in our rates guide.
How to connect
You connect your point of sale to PRA's system. Two routes exist, and they mirror the federal side.
- Do it yourself. If you have technical help, you can integrate your POS with PRA directly. You handle the connection, testing and upkeep.
- Use ready software. Most restaurants and salons prefer software that already reports to PRA. You enter the sale, and it handles the reporting and the QR code. This is the faster path, and it is what PraTax provides.
Getting ready
Have your PRA registration and your business details in order. List your services with the correct rate for each, since a wrong rate is the usual cause of a rejected invoice. Test a few invoices before you rely on it for a busy evening service. Once the first real invoices go through cleanly, reporting becomes something that happens in the background while you run the floor.
Report to PRA without the setup headache
PraTax creates PRA service invoices, adds the QR code and reports them for you, with bulk CSV invoicing for busy days.
Open PraTaxCommon questions
What is PRA digital invoicing?
Punjab charges sales tax on services and the Punjab Revenue Authority collects it. Digital invoicing gives PRA a live view of your sales instead of seeing them later in your return. When you make a sale your system sends the invoice to PRA, PRA records it, and the receipt your customer gets carries a QR code they can scan to confirm the sale was reported.
Which businesses have to report invoices to PRA?
PRA has focused first on sectors where cash sales are common, and restaurants are the largest group brought in so far. Salons, beauty parlours, caterers and similar service providers follow the same pattern. Service businesses registered with PRA that cross the turnover threshold are expected to be integrated, and your exact position depends on your sector and turnover as set out in PRA's notifications.
What changes at the counter once you are connected to PRA?
Less than owners fear. You still take the order and take payment as normal. The difference is that the invoice is created through a connected system, so it is sent to PRA and comes back with the QR code before it prints, and your customer sees a proper tax invoice carrying that code.
How do you connect a point of sale to PRA?
There are two routes. You can integrate your point of sale with PRA directly if you have technical help, handling the connection, testing and upkeep yourself. Or you can use software that already reports to PRA, where you enter the sale and it handles the reporting and the QR code.
What do you need before your first PRA invoice?
Your PRA registration and business details in order, and your services listed with the correct rate for each, since a wrong rate is the usual cause of a rejected invoice. Test a few invoices before you rely on it for a busy service.
General information, not tax advice. Confirm your obligations with your consultant or the PRA notifications for your sector.