For the last few years, the Pakistani government has been rather strict and efficient when it comes to taxation. This has enabled FBR to take measures against tax fraud and implement tax registrations and procedures for more and more businesses.
This move managed to help the people. With more and more businesses under the radar of FBR, FBR launched an easy and efficient application to help customers identify and verify their purchases known as FBR POS Invoice Verification.
The Corrupt Practice Of Tax Overcharging
Only businesses that are registered for taxation by the FBR have the right to charge tax on their sales. Any other business isn’t allowed to charge taxes on products- that would just be overcharging customers.
If you don’t have much knowledge about tax, let me help you understand the picture.
Basically, the way GST works is a retailer gets registered for tax by the FBR. Then that retailer collects tax on behalf of FBR from customers.
For example, if a packet of cigarettes costs PKR 150 and the GST is PKR 20, the retailer would charge the customer PKR 170. Keep the 150 in their own pocket and forward the 20 to FBR.
However, an unregistered business can easily charge PKR 170 as the customer doesn’t know if the retailer is registered. This would enable the retailer to keep all PKR 170 in their own pocket since they’re not registered.
This way, corrupt businesses found an easy loop through which they can commit fraud.
Instead of increasing prices, unregistered businesses started charging taxes on the products that they sell. This not only brought more money into the seller’s pocket but also left the customer with no one to blame but the government.
However, with the efficient measures of FBR, the right step is finally taken to prevent retailers from overcharging customers.
What is FBR POS Invoice Verification?
FBR POS Invoice Verification is a tax verification system made by the FBR to prevent retail fraud and overpricing. This measure allows customers to verify if their supplier is registered for tax by entering invoice details. If not, the customer can easily identify they are being overcharged.
How To Use FBR POS Invoice Verification?
To verify a POS receipt/invoice for FBR POS Invoice Verification, you need to install the FBR app called ‘Tax Asaan’ and enter the invoice/receipt’s number or scan its QR Code in the Verify Invoice Menu.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to do so:
The first step would be to download the app Tax Asaan. This is available on Android and iOS.
In order to operate the application, your device needs to be connected to the internet.
Launch the application once installed.
This will show you the main dashboard of the Tax Asaan app. For FBR POS Invoice Verification, touch on the Verify Invoice menu.
This will bring you to a new screen asking you to enter Invoice No. with a QR code scan option beside it.
Now, look at the invoice you want to scan. Typically, the invoice would have a QR code and an Invoice Number.
You can either enter the Invoice No. in or click the QR code option and scan the QR code on the invoice through the device’s camera.
After the QR code scan, the Invoice No. box will be filled with the relevant Invoice No.
Now you will press Verify.
If the business is registered in FBR, the app will show the following details:
Reporting An Unverified Business
If, however, the business is not registered, a pop up will show that the invoice could not be verified, asking you to report the invoice if you wish.
This would mean the supplier is not registered and the tax they charged you is just overpricing going straight into their own pockets.
If you wish to report the invoice, press Yes. This will take you to a Reporting form.
Here, fill in the details of the business along with a .png image of the invoice.
Once done, a popup menu will acknowledge that the invoice has been reported successfully.