Proforma invoice in Pakistan: NTN, STRN and sales tax at 18%

Proforma invoice or sales tax invoice?

Section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 lists what a tax invoice contains. It is serially numbered and issued at the time of supply, in Urdu or English, with the name, address and registration number of the supplier and of the recipient, the date, the description and quantity of the goods, the value excluding tax, the amount of sales tax and the value including tax. Registered persons must also integrate their invoicing system with FBR, through a licensed integrator or PRAL, and issue their sales tax invoices electronically (SRO 1413(I)/2025).

A proforma is none of this. It prices an offer so that the buyer can approve it, raise a purchase order, pay an advance or open a letter of credit. Title it “Proforma invoice”, give it a number series of its own and write: “This proforma invoice is not a sales tax invoice.”

NTN and STRN: which number goes where

The NTN (National Tax Number) identifies a taxpayer. The STRN (Sales Tax Registration Number) shows that a business is registered for sales tax. FBR notes that some invoices carry only an NTN to suggest that the supplier is registered, and asks buyers to look for the STRN: a supplier who is not registered for sales tax cannot charge it.

On your proforma, show your NTN and, if you are registered, your STRN, then the buyer’s numbers. If you are not registered for sales tax, show no sales tax.

What a Pakistani proforma shows

Sales tax: 18% on goods, services taxed separately

Section 3 of the Sales Tax Act charges sales tax at 18% of the value of taxable supplies made by a registered person, and of goods imported into Pakistan; the schedules of the Act set other rates and exemptions for some goods. Under section 4, goods exported are charged at 0%.

Services are taxed separately, mostly by the provinces through their own revenue authorities and at their own rates. A proforma that mixes goods and services can therefore carry two different taxes: check the rate of each line with your tax adviser.

Importing into Pakistan: the proforma your bank reads

Imports are paid through banks acting as Authorized Dealers of the State Bank of Pakistan. Its Foreign Exchange Manual asks them to make sure, before any import transaction, that a firm commitment exists: a proforma invoice, order or indent issued by the foreign supplier, with a full description of the goods and their prices. Imports paid against a contract or on collection are registered with the bank on the basis of the contract, purchase order or proforma invoice.

With banks connected to the Pakistan Single Window, the Electronic Import Form is no longer needed: the bank sends the details of the letter of credit, contract or advance payment to PSW, and the importer links them to the goods declaration. A precise proforma from your supplier, with exact descriptions, HS codes, prices, currency and the Incoterms® rule, makes those steps simpler. See also letters of credit.

Making it with InvoiceProforma

• Choose PKR: amounts are calculated with 2 decimals. Switch to US dollars or another currency for an export offer.
• Add your NTN and STRN to your company profile as free lines: they print under your address on every PDF.
• Set the document’s tax rate to 18% for taxable goods, or to 0% for an export with the reason in the note.
• Write your bank name, IBAN and SWIFT in the footer once.
• Send the PDF by email or WhatsApp.

InvoiceProforma produces PDFs and is not integrated with FBR’s e-invoicing system: issue your sales tax invoices through your FBR-integrated system, and use InvoiceProforma for proformas, quotations, purchase orders and delivery notes.