FBR Orders Online Monitoring of Hotels, Restaurants, Hospitals & Marriage Halls

Lahore: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has taken a major step toward broadening Pakistan’s tax net by ordering the mandatory installation of Point of Sale (POS) systems across more than 14 categories of businesses nationwide.
According to an official notification issued by the FBR, hotels, restaurants, guest houses, marriage halls, marquees, race clubs, hospitals, and other commercial establishments are now required to integrate with a real-time online monitoring system to ensure transparent transaction reporting.
The notification, however, provides a partial exemption — businesses operating without air conditioning facilities will not be required to install POS systems, offering relief to smaller or less-equipped establishments.
Authorities say the move is aimed at curbing tax evasion, improving fiscal transparency, and boosting government revenue collection. The FBR’s decision comes as part of broader efforts to digitize Pakistan’s economy and bring the undocumented sector into the formal tax framework.
The business community has responded with mixed reactions, with some welcoming the digitization drive while others raising concerns over implementation challenges and additional compliance costs.