Here’s How Retailers are Issuing Fake FBR Invoices to Steal Your Tax

Retailers have allegedly put on their entrepreneur hats this time to evade the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Point of Sale (POS) system. ProPakistani has learned that retailers are allegedly manipulating the POS system to avoid paying taxes and instead charge a higher sales value from customers. The new practice doesn’t change anything in the POS system but the payment software of retailers which then allegedly reprint the same QR codes and invoice numbers with higher sale amounts. For example, an invoice is registered for Rs. 1,000, which is genuinely reported back to the FBR system. Retailers then allegedly print receipts with the same invoice number and QR code but change the sales amount to match the actual orders. This way, only one or two invoices are genuinely reported while the majority are not submitted to the POS servers. This practice was confirmed through the Sindh Revenue Board’s eSales Reporting System (eSRB). A concerned taxpayer recently reported a coffee shop for allegedly being involved in stealing tax from paying consumers. The individual entered the invoice number for his purchase into the eSRB portal, which displayed a tax amount Rs. 70 lower than what he was charged, while the sales value was also small compared to the receipt allegedly handed over to him by the coffee shop. When confronted, the shop’s manager attempted to retrieve the receipt, but the customer refused and submitted an official complaint to the FBR. The shop now faces potential fines of up to Rs. 1 million if found guilty. FBR must properly verify all POS invoices and take action against tax thieves.