How to Make an FBR Digital Invoice: Step by Step (2026)
The exact steps to issue a valid FBR digital invoice — from sales tax registration and tokens to entering buyer and item details, posting in real time, and printing the invoice with its IRN and 1×1-inch QR code.
What you need before the first invoice
Three things must exist before any digital invoice can be made. First, sales tax registration — the seller's NTN (7 digits) or CNIC (13 digits) must belong to a registered person. Second, Digital Invoicing enrolment on IRIS, where the business chooses API integration through PRAL or a licensed integrator, or manual entry on the portal. Third, tokens: a sandbox token for scenario testing and, after the sector's required scenarios (SN001–SN028) pass, a production token — each valid for five years.
Software users complete this once. In Digi Invoice the FBR profile (seller NTN, business name, province, address and tokens) is saved on first setup, so every later invoice only needs the buyer and the items.
Step by step: making and posting the invoice
Step 1 — invoice header: select the invoice type (Sale Invoice), the date (today or earlier, never future-dated, format YYYY-MM-DD) and the buyer: name, province, address, NTN/CNIC and registration type (Registered or Unregistered — it must match the buyer's actual FBR profile). Step 2 — items: for each line pick the HS code, a unit of measure allowed for that HS code, the sale type, the rate that applies on the invoice date, the quantity and the value excluding sales tax. Non-18% rates also need their SRO/schedule number and item serial.
Step 3 — tax: sales tax is computed from the sale type's formula (18% of value for standard goods, retail price × rate for 3rd Schedule, fixed rupees per unit for cement or CNG, and so on) — good software derives this automatically so FBR's recalculation matches. Step 4 — post: the invoice is transmitted to FBR's API and, within seconds, FBR returns the unique invoice number (IRN) and QR data. Step 5 — print or send the invoice showing the FBR invoice number, the Version 2.0 QR code at 1.0 × 1.0 inch and the Digital Invoicing logo. Without the QR it is not a valid tax invoice.
Rules that reject first invoices
The most common first-time rejections are predictable: extra tax must be sent empty for reduced-rate, zero-rated and exempt goods (error 0091); sales tax withheld at source must be 0 or exactly equal to the sales tax (0008); the buyer and seller cannot be the same NTN (0058 — self-invoicing); quantity is mandatory for goods (0098); and the unit of measure must be one FBR allows for that HS code (0099).
Two more catch manual workflows: the calculated-tax checks (0102–0105) reject any line where the submitted tax differs from FBR's own formula by even a paisa, and local invoice numbers must be alphanumeric with hyphens between segments (0088). Validating locally before posting turns all of these into warnings instead of FBR rejections.
After posting: corrections and records
A posted invoice belongs to FBR's record immediately. Corrections are tightly controlled — edits or cancellation only within 72 hours of issuance, only for integration-submitted invoices, and within a monthly cap; after that window (or once the invoice enters the sales tax return) changes need Commissioner approval. Debit notes handle post-window adjustments, within 180 days and inside the original invoice's value limits.
Keep the invoice record for six years. The buyer can verify any invoice by scanning the QR code or checking the FBR invoice number on the Tax Asaan app — which is exactly why a compliant invoice protects the buyer's input tax claim as much as the seller's filing.