Got a PRA E-IMS notice? What October's crackdown means for you

What happened in October

• 1 October: PRA said it had sent notices to more than 70 hotels, restaurants and marquees in two days for not using E-IMS. Several restaurants that kept breaking the rules after a notice were fined.
• 7 October: PRA reported Rs 87 billion collected in the first quarter, against Rs 66.3 billion a year earlier, up 31%. Its chairman credited E-IMS and closer digital monitoring.
• 12 October: PRA's chairman warned food chains and coffee shops that refuse card payments of strict action. He said digital payments must go only into bank accounts declared to PRA, and directed that QR codes be made mandatory on E-IMS receipts. More than 70 restaurants had notices by then, and complaints on social media are to be looked into at once.
• 21 October: a PRA spokesperson told reporters that 250 businesses not connected to E-IMS got notices in 24 hours. Thirty were fined over digital payments and other breaches, and more than 50 new businesses were registered. Teams worked in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi.

The direction is clear: PRA is checking more businesses, more often, and it is using its own data to pick them.

What PRA is checking

• Every bill through E-IMS. A business over the threshold must issue its receipts through E-IMS, PRA's system that records each bill as it is made.
• Your returns against your E-IMS sales. PRA compares the sales you declare in your return with what E-IMS recorded. A gap is a reason for a notice.
• How you take card payments. Refusing card payments, or taking card and QR payments into an account PRA doesn't know about, now draws attention.
• The QR code on the receipt. Customers scan it with PRA's Sahulat app to check the bill is real, and PRA wants it on every E-IMS receipt.
• Customer complaints. A customer who posts about an unverified bill or a refused card can start a check.

Who must use E-IMS

Any business registered with PRA whose turnover reached Rs 6 million from restaurant services, or Rs 10 million from any other service, in 2017-18 or any year since. That takes in most restaurants, cafés and coffee shops, and many hotels, marriage halls, salons and gyms.

The test is turnover, not profit. For the full rules, see PRA E-IMS in Punjab.

Got a notice? Do this

1. Read the date on the notice and reply before it. Businesses that kept breaking the rules after a notice are the ones being fined.
2. Put every counter and branch on E-IMS. Every bill, at every till, should go to PRA as you make it.
3. Check the receipt. Each bill should carry PRA's invoice number and a QR code that scans in the Sahulat app.
4. Accept card and QR payments, into a bank account you have declared to PRA.
5. Match your return to E-IMS. Before you file, check that the sales in your return are the sales E-IMS recorded.

eInvoicePro is the software that sends your bills to PRA E-IMS. It prints each bill with PRA's invoice number and QR code, for every counter and branch, and keeps them all in one place for your return. See eInvoicePro for PRA E-IMS.

FAQs

Why did I get a PRA E-IMS notice? In October 2026 PRA sent notices to businesses it believes should be on E-IMS and are not, or whose records don't match. Restaurants, hotels and marquees were first. Reply by the date on the notice and get every counter on E-IMS.

Who has to use PRA E-IMS? Any business registered with PRA whose turnover reached Rs 6 million from restaurant services, or Rs 10 million from any other service, in 2017-18 or any year since.

Do restaurants in Punjab have to accept card payments? PRA's chairman warned on 12 October 2026 of strict action against food chains and coffee shops that refuse digital payments, and said those payments must go only into bank accounts declared to PRA.

Does every PRA receipt need a QR code? PRA's chairman directed on 12 October 2026 that QR codes be made mandatory on E-IMS receipts, so customers can check each bill at once in PRA's Sahulat app.

How do customers check a PRA bill? They scan the QR code on the bill with PRA's Sahulat app, on the App Store and Google Play.

Which cities has PRA checked? On 21 October 2026 a PRA spokesperson named Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi. PRA's earlier notices in October covered businesses across Punjab.

Related reading: PRA E-IMS in Punjab, what changed at PRA in 2026 and the PRA default surcharge ruling.