Who has to do it
Every person registered for sales tax. FBR first ordered integration through PRAL or a licensed integrator in SRO 709(I)/2025, then moved the dates twice. The current schedule is SRO 1852(I)/2025, issued on 24 September 2025:
| Who | Issue digital invoices from |
|---|---|
| Public companies, importers, companies above Rs1bn, individuals/AOPs above Rs100m | 1 Nov 2025 |
| Companies Rs100m – Rs1bn | 15 Nov 2025 |
| Companies up to Rs100m | 1 Dec 2025 |
| All other registered persons | 31 Dec 2025 |
So if you're registered, the deadline has passed. Selling online changes nothing: a Shopify or WooCommerce order is an invoice like any other. FBR has already acted against non-integrated businesses; Dawn reported a bookshop's premises being sealed in Islamabad.
Physical shops are a separate track
Tier-1 retailers also have FBR's point-of-sale integration for their shops. If you sell in a shop and online, both need to report.
What each order must send
PRAL's API documentation (v1.12) is 51 pages. For an online store it comes down to five things:
- Send it in real time. Each invoice goes to FBR's Digital Invoicing API with a security token from PRAL. PRAL integration is free under the Sales Tax Rules; other licensed integrators may charge.
- Seller, buyer and lines. Your NTN, name, province and address. For a normal shopper the buyer is "Unregistered", so their business details are optional. Each line needs an HS code, sale type, rate, value and tax.
- Keep FBR's invoice number. A valid invoice comes back with an FBR invoice number. That number belongs on your order and your invoice.
- Print the proof. The FBR Digital Invoicing logo and a QR code (1 × 1 inch, version 2.0) on each invoice.
- Refunds and edits get a note. You don't change a sent invoice. You send a note with the original FBR invoice number, a reason, and a date on or after the original.
The invoice isn't done when the customer pays. It's done when FBR sends back a number.
Why Shopify and Woo can't do it alone
Neither platform has an FBR connection built in. Shopify's order number isn't an FBR invoice number, product records don't carry HS codes or sale types, and a refund in Shopify or Woo doesn't tell FBR anything. Something has to sit in between: listen for each new order, refund and edit, build the FBR request, store the number that comes back, and retry when FBR's API is down. The PRAL token also has to stay on a server, never in your theme.
What the apps leave out
On Shopify, the first App Store listing I found is ComplyStream: FBR Invoices, launched in August 2026. It submits orders from the order page, shows the FBR invoice number and errors, and offers bulk submit from its Growth plan ($19/month for 800 submissions). That's a real help for small stores. Its listing doesn't mention:
- Sending each order automatically, without someone clicking.
- Notes for refunds, partial refunds and order edits.
- Several stores reporting under one NTN.
For WooCommerce I found no self-install plugin, only vendors who build one per store. Whichever you pick, ask those three questions and test in PRAL's sandbox before going live.
Am I covered, and what am I missing?
Answer six questions. You'll get a verdict and a checklist for your store.
FBR readiness checker · runs in your browser
Six taps. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Registered for sales tax?
Where do you sell online?
Orders per day
Do you refund or edit orders?
More than one store under one NTN?
Physical shops too?
You're covered. Every invoice must reach FBR.
The last deadline under SRO 1852(I)/2025 was 31 December 2025. Here's what your Shopify setup needs:
Your checklist
- 1Get your Digital Invoicing API access from PRAL (free) or a licensed integrator, test in the sandbox, and whitelist your server's IP.
- 2Add the right HS code and sale type to every product, so each order line can be sent without manual edits.
- 3Send every order automatically from Shopify. At your volume, manual or bulk submitting will fall behind.
- 4Save the FBR invoice number on the order, and print it with the Digital Invoicing logo and a 1-inch QR code.
- 5Send a note to FBR for every refund, partial refund and order edit, pointing to the original FBR invoice number.
A guide, not tax advice. Confirm your own position with your tax consultant.
Want it done for you? Message me on WhatsApp with your checklist and I'll tell you which route fits your store: an app, or a small custom connection.
The setup, step by step
I haven't connected a store to FBR yet. But I've run order operations for a Pakistani fashion brand doing 1,000+ orders a day, including courier and COD reconciliation, and I build Shopify webhooks and WordPress integrations. This is exactly how I'd set it up:
- Confirm your position. Registration, category and anything special about your products, with your consultant.
- Get access. Request API access from PRAL (or pick a licensed integrator), get the sandbox token and whitelist the server's IP.
- Clean the catalog. HS code and sale type on every product, stored in a product field, not typed per order.
- Connect the events. Order paid, refund and order edit trigger a request to FBR from a server, never from the browser.
- Keep a log. Every request and FBR response saved, with failed ones retried and flagged to a person, so nothing silently goes missing.
- Show the proof. FBR invoice number, logo and QR code on the invoice and in the order email.
- Test, then switch. Run FBR's sandbox scenarios, including a refund and an edit, then move to the production token.
Custom systems
Webhooks, logs and dashboards for multi-store Shopify
The same pattern I use for stock and orders across stores: events in, a log you can check, and nothing lost on retries.
See the systems I buildField Notes
Custom Shopify app or another monthly app?
If you're choosing between a per-submission app and a one-time connection, this is how I compare them.
Read the 2-year mathQuestions
Does FBR digital invoicing apply to my online store?
It applies to sales-tax-registered persons, whatever they sell through. Under SRO 1852(I)/2025 the last group, all other registered persons, had to start issuing digital invoices by 31 December 2025. If you're registered and sell on Shopify or WooCommerce, your online orders are invoices too.
Is PRAL integration free?
Yes. Under the Sales Tax Rules, PRAL acts as a licensed integrator and provides integration free of cost on request. Other licensed integrators may charge for their software and setup. What you still pay for is the work of connecting your store to the API.
Do I need the customer's NTN or CNIC for every order?
No. Most online shoppers are unregistered buyers. FBR's API lets you mark the buyer as Unregistered, and the buyer's business details become optional. For B2B orders to a registered buyer, you send their NTN or CNIC.
What do I do when an order is refunded or edited?
Don't change the original invoice. FBR's API takes a note that points to the original FBR invoice number, with a reason and a date on or after the original invoice. Your setup should send one automatically for every refund, partial refund or order edit.
What has to be printed on the invoice?
PRAL's technical documentation says the FBR Digital Invoicing System logo and a QR code must be printed on each invoice, with the QR code at 1 × 1 inch (version 2.0, 25×25). Add the FBR invoice number returned by the API.
I also have physical shops. Is that the same thing?
Not quite. Tier-1 retailers have a separate point-of-sale integration with FBR for their shops. If you run both, check each channel with your tax consultant so your shop and your website both report correctly.
Get every order to FBR, automatically.
I'll connect your Shopify or WooCommerce store to FBR Digital Invoicing: every order, refund and edit sent, with the FBR number and QR on your invoices and a log you can check.
Sources
- SRO 1852(I)/2025 (FBR, scanned notification)
- Dawn: FBR extends e-invoicing deadlines to Oct 15 – Dec 31 (Sept 2025)
- Sovos: Pakistan e-invoicing timeline revised again (SRO 1852)
- Business Recorder: SRO 709(I)/2025 integration through PRAL or licensed integrator
- PRAL Technical Documentation for DI API v1.12 (FBR)
- PRAL Digital Invoicing User Manual v1.5 (FBR)
- Sales Tax Rules, Chapter XIV: licensing and integration (FBR)
- FBR: Digital invoicing FAQs
- FBR: List of licensed integrators
- FBR POS integration booklet (Tier-1 retailers)
- ComplyStream: FBR Invoices (Shopify App Store)