The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has imposed a sweeping ban on handwritten receipts across the province’s hospitality sector, targeting restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, and marriage halls in a significant push to digitize tax collection and stamp out alleged evasion.
Digital Receipts Now Mandatory
Under the new directives, all affected businesses must immediately switch to issuing receipts exclusively through the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (EIMS). The move effectively outlaws traditional manual receipts, kitchen order slips, and unpaid bills handed to customers. Establishments are now required to provide digital receipts that display the business name, address, a unique receipt number, and a verifiable PRA QR code.
The authority has set a strict penalty regime for non-compliance. Restaurants and venues failing to generate EIMS receipts will face fines ranging from Rs400,000 to Rs1 million. Repeat offenders risk having their premises sealed for up to one month, according to official notifications circulated across all districts of Punjab.
Crackdown on Tax Evasion
PRA Chairman Muazam Iqbal Sapra directed commissioners to enforce the new regulations, which officials say are designed to bring transparency to the tax collection system and digitize sales records. The authority has also warned of stringent legal action against any interference with official duties, tampering with sales data, or failure to produce mandated records.
The ban on handwritten receipts and alternative slips closes a loophole that officials believe was widely exploited to underreport sales and evade taxes. By integrating all transactions into the EIMS platform, the PRA aims to monitor revenue in real time and significantly reduce the shadow economy within Punjab’s bustling hospitality industry.
