FBR Digital Invoicing for Exporters: 0% Invoices (2026)

Updated October 2026. By the Digi Invoice team at S.M. Raheel & Company — tax advocates, Faisalabad. This page is for exporters and for suppliers who sell to exporters at 0%.

Exports of goods are zero-rated under section 4 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Zero-rated means the tax rate is 0%, so no sales tax is charged, but you can still claim back the input tax (the sales tax you paid on your purchases). Zero-rating changes the rate. It does not take you out of digital invoicing.

In FBR's Digital Invoicing system a zero-rated sale uses scenario SN007 (FBR's code for 'Goods at zero-rate'). The line must carry the SRO or Schedule reference and the item serial number, because both are required whenever the rate is not 18%. A posted invoice gets an IRN (Invoice Reference Number — the unique number FBR gives every invoice it accepts) and a QR code.

Under SRO 1852(I)/2025 (24 September 2025), FBR set the dates by which every group of sales tax registered persons must issue invoices through the system. Importers and exporters were placed in the early groups, so most exporters should already be posting every sale. This guide is general information, not tax advice.

Any exporter who holds an STRN (Sales Tax Registration Number — the number that shows you are registered for sales tax) must post its sales through digital invoicing. This covers manufacturers who export, merchant exporters who buy goods and ship them, and exporters who also sell part of their output inside Pakistan.

Suppliers to exporters are in scope too. A weaving unit that sells fabric to a garment exporter posts its invoice at the normal rate, or at 0% only where a Schedule or SRO allows it. Some local supplies are zero-rated under the Fifth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Check the exact entry before you post a local sale at 0%.

Services and software exporters work under different rules. Freelancers and IT exporters should read 'FBR Digital Invoicing for Freelancers and IT Exporters in Pakistan (2026)'.

Keep your export papers with each invoice. Your GD (Goods Declaration — the customs form filed in WeBOC for each shipment) and your invoice should show the same goods, quantity and value. Ask your tax adviser how your business links the two in your monthly return.

Step 1 — pick scenario SN007 for the zero-rated line. A local sale to a registered buyer is SN001, and to an unregistered buyer SN002. Never mix them up on one line.

Step 2 — enter the HS code (the 8-digit product number that tells FBR what you sold) and a UoM (unit of measurement) that FBR allows for that HS code.

Step 3 — set the rate to 0% and fill the SRO or Schedule reference and the item serial number. Leave further tax and extra tax empty unless a rule asks for them.

Step 4 — post the invoice in real time and keep the IRN. Print the QR code and the FBR Digital Invoicing logo on the copy you keep and the copy you send.

A common rejection for exporters is a 0% line with a blank SRO or Schedule reference, or a blank item serial number. Another costly mistake is booking a zero-rated sale as exempt. Exempt and zero-rated are not the same. On an exempt sale you lose the input tax. 'Zero-Rated vs Exempt Invoices in FBR Digital Invoicing' explains the difference.

A Sialkot football maker buys leather and materials locally for Rs 500,000. The suppliers post their invoices and charge 18% sales tax: Rs 90,000. This Rs 90,000 is the exporter's input tax.

Export sale: 1,000 footballs at Rs 1,200 each, shipped abroad. Value Rs 1,200,000. Scenario SN007, rate 0%, sales tax Rs 0. The invoice is posted and gets an IRN.

Local sale: 200 footballs at Rs 1,500 each to a registered sports shop in Lahore. Value Rs 300,000. Scenario SN001, rate 18%, sales tax Rs 54,000. Total invoice Rs 354,000.

Sales tax collected that month is Rs 54,000. Input tax paid is Rs 90,000. The difference, Rs 36,000, is excess input tax the exporter can claim as a refund through Annexure-H (the stock statement in the monthly return that starts a refund claim). This example is simplified. Real claims may need input tax to be split between export and local sales.

The refund only works if every supplier posted its invoice. If the leather supplier did not post, that Rs 90,000 does not appear in Annexure-A (the purchase list in your return), and that part of the refund is held.

Refunds for exporters are paid by FASTER (Fully Automated Sales Tax e-Refund, FBR's automatic refund system). Rule 39F of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006 sets a 72-hour target once a claim is filed with Annexure-H. In practice a claim is held whenever FBR's record does not match yours.

From 4 September 2026, SRO 1498(I)/2026 gives an uncleared refund amount four more weekly checks after the first eight, before it goes to STARR (FBR's module for a deeper review). This helps when a supplier posts an invoice late. 'SRO 1498(I)/2026: Why Your Sales Tax Refund Now Gets 4 More Weekly Checks Before STARR' explains it.

Three habits keep refunds moving. Buy only from suppliers who post their invoices. Check Annexure-A against your purchase file every month. File Annexure-H, not just the return. 'Sales Tax Refunds After Digital Invoicing (2026): FASTER, Annexure-H and the 72-Hour Rule' has the full checklist.

Digi Invoice saves each export item with its HS code, UoM, rate and SRO reference once. It checks every invoice against FBR's rules before it is sent, posts it in real time, and prints the IRN, QR code and FBR logo. There is no per-invoice fee. You can test free in the sandbox (FBR's practice system where test invoices do not count) first. Need help? Contact Digi Invoice — WhatsApp 0300 8680363.

Zero-rated — taxed at 0%, so no sales tax is charged, but input tax can still be claimed back.

Input tax — sales tax you paid on purchases, which you can take off the tax you owe or claim as a refund.

SN007 — FBR's scenario code for a sale of goods at zero rate.

GD (Goods Declaration) — the customs form filed in WeBOC for each export shipment.

Annexure-H — the stock statement in the monthly sales tax return that starts a refund claim.