EIMS is the Punjab Revenue Authority's Electronic Invoice Monitoring System. A business's billing (POS) software reports each sale to PRA, and the printed receipt carries a PRA invoice number and a PRA QR code so the sale can be verified.

What is the fine for not issuing an EIMS receipt in Punjab?

According to the August 2026 PRA notification as reported by the press, businesses that fail to issue EIMS-generated receipts face fines of Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million, and repeat violators can have their premises sealed for up to one month.

Why is sales tax lower when I pay by card at a Punjab restaurant?

From 1 July 2026, PRA charges 8% sales tax on restaurant bills paid by debit or credit card (and, per several reports, mobile wallet or QR), compared with 16% on cash payments. On a Rs 5,000 bill that is Rs 400 in tax instead of Rs 800.

Does the PRA receipt rule apply in Karachi or Sindh?

No. PRA collects sales tax on services in Punjab only. In Sindh, sales tax on services is administered by the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), which has its own rules for restaurant invoicing.

Punjab's Handwritten Receipt Ban: The 2026 PRA EIMS Guide for Restaurants, Cafés and Marriage Halls

Q: Are handwritten receipts allowed at restaurants in Punjab?

No. Since August 2026 the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) requires hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and marriage halls to issue receipts generated through its Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (EIMS). Handwritten receipts, kitchen order slips, pre-bills and unpaid bills cannot be given in place of a proper receipt.

Q: How do I verify a PRA receipt?

Scan the PRA QR code printed on the receipt to check the transaction. Also confirm the receipt shows the business name and address, its PRA registration number (PNTN), the PRA invoice number, the tax rate, the pre-tax amount and the total payable.

PRA now treats a handwritten bill as a violation. Here's who is covered, what a valid receipt must show, what the fines are, and how customers can check that a receipt is real.

By the TapTile team · Published 19 October 2026 · 7 min read

Rs 1M

Maximum fine

1 month

Sealing for repeat violators

8% vs 16%

Sales tax: card vs cash

The short answer

Since August 2026, the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has required hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and marriage halls in Punjab to issue every receipt through its Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (EIMS). Handwritten receipts, kitchen order slips and pre-bills are no longer acceptable. A valid receipt carries a PRA invoice number and a PRA QR code. Businesses that don't comply face fines of Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million, and repeat offenders can be sealed for up to a month.

What changed in August 2026?

On the instructions of PRA Chairman Moazzam Iqbal Sipra, PRA commissioners across Punjab were directed to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on receipts. The press reported the notification on 10 August 2026. EIMS itself is not new: PRA has required larger restaurants to integrate with it for years. What changed is enforcement. Commissioners are now told to act immediately against any business that hands customers anything other than an EIMS-generated receipt.

The stated goal is simple: every sale gets reported, so the tax charged to the customer actually reaches the government.

Which businesses are covered?

The August notification names four kinds of business:

Restaurants, including fast food and dine-in
Coffee shops and cafés
Hotels
Marriage halls (and, in practice, the catering served there)

The underlying obligation comes from the Punjab Electronic Invoice Monitoring System Rules 2019. Vendor guides summarising those rules say the integration duty applies to PRA-registered businesses with annual turnover of Rs 6 million or more from restaurant services, or Rs 10 million or more from other services. Thresholds have been revised before, so check the current notification on the PRA website before you rely on these figures.

What's banned at the counter

PRA's instructions say none of the following can stand in for a proper receipt:

Handwritten or manual receipts
Kitchen order slips (KOTs)
Pre-bills, "temporary" bills and unpaid bills

That last point matters for dine-in restaurants. The bill a waiter brings to the table before payment is a pre-bill. The customer should get the EIMS receipt after paying.

What a valid PRA receipt must show

According to PRA's customer guidelines as reported by TechJuice, a valid receipt includes:

The business name and address
The business's PRA registration number (PNTN)
Order details (items and quantities)
The applicable tax rate
The amount before tax
The total payable amount
The PRA invoice number
The PRA QR code

If either of the last two is missing, the sale probably wasn't reported to EIMS.

Fines and penalties

Violation	Penalty (as reported)
Not issuing an EIMS-generated receipt	Rs 400,000 to Rs 1,000,000
Repeated violations	Premises sealed for up to one month
Tampering with sales records, obstructing officials, or withholding records	"Strict legal action" under PRA law

Why your card bill is cheaper than your cash bill

From 1 July 2026, Punjab charges 8% sales tax on restaurant bills paid by debit or credit card, up from 5%. Several reports say the same rate covers mobile wallets and QR payments. Cash bills are still taxed at 16%. PRA confirmed the change to Geo's fact-check desk.

Rs 5,000 meal (before tax)	Paid in cash	Paid by card / digital
Sales tax rate	16%	8%
Tax charged	Rs 800	Rs 400
Total payable	Rs 5,800	Rs 5,400

For customers, paying digitally saves money. For owners, it means the payment trail and the receipt trail now match, and PRA can compare the two.

Compliance checklist for owners

Confirm your registration. Make sure your business is registered with PRA and your PNTN is correct on your receipts.
Ask your POS vendor, in writing, whether your billing software is EIMS-integrated. The receipt it prints should show a PRA invoice number and QR code on every sale, not only on some.
Print a test receipt and scan the QR code. If it doesn't verify, fix that before an inspector finds it.
Retire the manual bill book. Remove handwritten bill pads and "rough bill" printouts from the counter, and stop handing out KOTs to customers.
Train staff on the pre-bill rule. Table bills before payment are fine to show. The final receipt must come from EIMS after payment.
Accept card, wallet and QR payments. Customers get the lower 8% rate, and PRA asks customers to report businesses that refuse digital payment.
Display PRA's customer guidelines prominently, as PRA requires.
Plan for outages. Ask your vendor what happens when the internet or POS goes down, and how unsent invoices are reported to PRA afterwards.

For customers: how to check and report a receipt

To verify: scan the PRA QR code on the receipt and confirm the business name, address and PNTN match where you ate.

To report a business that gives you a handwritten bill, no receipt, or refuses card payment, PRA lists three channels:

The PRA Sahulat mobile app
PRA's official social media accounts
WhatsApp: 0343-0000772

Where digital receipts fit in

EIMS is about reporting each sale to PRA. It doesn't change how the customer receives their copy. Today that copy is a strip of thermal paper. It fades, it gets lost, and when someone wants a refund or needs a receipt for an expense claim, it's usually gone.

That's the problem TapTile works on. TapTile sits beside your existing receipt printer, with no change to your billing software. When a receipt prints, it also delivers a digital copy to the customer's phone with an NFC tap or a QR scan, with no app needed. Your EIMS-integrated POS keeps printing the official PRA receipt exactly as before. TapTile adds a copy the customer won't lose.

TapTile doesn't replace EIMS

If your POS isn't EIMS-integrated yet, sort that out with your POS vendor first. TapTile works alongside a compliant setup. It isn't a substitute for one.

Frequently asked questions

Are handwritten receipts allowed at restaurants in Punjab?

No. Since August 2026, PRA has required hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and marriage halls to issue receipts generated through EIMS. Handwritten receipts, kitchen order slips, pre-bills and unpaid bills can't be given in place of a proper receipt.

What is PRA EIMS?

EIMS is the Punjab Revenue Authority's Electronic Invoice Monitoring System. A business's billing software reports each sale to PRA, and the printed receipt carries a PRA invoice number and QR code so the sale can be verified.

What is the fine for not issuing an EIMS receipt?

As reported from the August 2026 notification: Rs 400,000 to Rs 1 million, and repeat violators can be sealed for up to one month.

How do I verify a PRA receipt?

Scan the PRA QR code. Then check that the receipt shows the business name, address, PNTN, PRA invoice number, tax rate, pre-tax amount and total.

Why is sales tax lower when I pay by card?

From 1 July 2026, card payments (and, per several reports, wallet and QR payments) at Punjab restaurants are taxed at 8%, while cash is taxed at 16%. On a Rs 5,000 bill, that's Rs 400 in tax instead of Rs 800.

Does this apply in Karachi or Sindh?

No. PRA collects sales tax on services in Punjab only. In Sindh, the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) administers sales tax on services and has its own rules for restaurant invoicing.

Give customers a receipt they won't lose

TapTile delivers a digital copy of every receipt with one tap. No POS changes, and live in 48 hours.

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Sources

This guide summarises public reporting and is not legal or tax advice. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm details with PRA or your tax adviser.