IRIS Digital Invoicing: IRIS vs FBR DI Explained (2026)

IRIS digital invoicing means the Digital Invoicing section inside IRIS (FBR's online tax portal). You use it to switch on digital invoicing and get your keys. After that, your billing software sends every invoice to FBR's Digital Invoicing API in real time. Updated: October 2026.

Four facts to remember. Enrolment on IRIS is free. Your sandbox and production tokens last 5 years. PRAL whitelists 1 to 3 IP addresses by hand. A posted invoice can be corrected only within 72 hours.

By the Digi Invoice team at S.M. Raheel & Company — tax advocates, Faisalabad.

IRIS is the portal you log into. You register there, file your monthly sales tax return and yearly income tax return, and reply to FBR notices. You visit it now and then.

Digital Invoicing (DI) works on every single invoice. Your software sends each sales tax invoice to the DI API (the computer link FBR uses to receive invoices) the moment you issue it. FBR checks it and sends back an IRN (Invoice Reference Number — the unique number FBR gives every invoice) and a QR code (a square barcode anyone can scan to check the invoice). PRAL (Pakistan Revenue Automation — FBR's own technology company) runs this system.

The setup has five steps. All of them are free on the PRAL route.

1. Log in to IRIS and open the Digital Invoicing section.
2. Choose your integrator: PRAL (free) or a private licensed integrator.
3. Enter your software's IP address for whitelisting (PRAL then accepts invoices only from that address).
4. Get your sandbox token (a secret key for FBR's free practice system, where test invoices do not count) and pass the test scenarios for your business type.
5. Get your production token and start posting real invoices.

Step-by-step screens are in our IRIS digital invoicing portal guide. The test cases are explained in FBR sandbox testing scenarios. FBR's own manuals are on the FBR DI technical assistance page.

Here is one sale, start to finish. A Faisalabad trader sells goods worth Rs 100,000 to a registered buyer. Sales tax at 18% is Rs 18,000. The invoice total is Rs 118,000.

1. The billing software builds the invoice and checks it.
2. It posts the invoice to the DI API with the 5-year token.
3. FBR returns an IRN and QR code within seconds.
4. The trader prints both on the invoice for the buyer.
5. At month end, the sale is already in Annexure-C (the list of sales in the monthly sales tax return) on IRIS.

So the two systems meet at the return. DI captures the sale. IRIS shows it again when you file. Read digital invoicing and Annexure-C for the full monthly cycle. A mistake can be fixed within 72 hours; see STGO 01 of 2026 and the 72-hour rule.

Many tools say "IRIS integration". In practice, software never posts invoices into IRIS. It connects to the DI API using the token IRIS gives you. So ask any vendor three questions. Does it follow the DI v1.12 rules? Does it work on the free PRAL route or a licensed integrator? Does it print the IRN and QR code?

Digi Invoice is FBR digital invoicing software made by S.M. Raheel & Company. It works on the free PRAL route. It checks every invoice against the DI v1.12 rules before sending, so fewer invoices are rejected. It prints the IRN and QR code for you. There is no invoice limit and no per-invoice fee.

Compare tools in best FBR digital invoicing software in Pakistan, or read PRAL digital invoicing for the free route. Need help? Contact Digi Invoice — WhatsApp 0300 8680363. Ready to start? Create your free account.

IRIS:

FBR's online portal for registration and tax returns.

DI API:

the computer link that receives every digital invoice.

Token:

a secret key your software uses to send invoices to FBR.

IRN:

Invoice Reference Number, the unique number FBR gives every invoice.

Annexure-C:

the list of your sales inside the monthly sales tax return.