LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has decided to launch a reward scheme under which customers who pay through QR codes at hotels and restaurants will have a chance to win prizes.
The authority said businesses in the sector that refuse QR code payments will face strict legal action.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting on digital monitoring and databases, chaired by PRA Chairman Moazzam Iqbal Sipra. Participants were briefed on priority measures in the service sectors to promote tax culture and electronic payments.
A PRA spokesperson said the scheme aims to move customers from cash to digital payments, which he said would make business transactions more transparent and increase public confidence in the tax system.
The meeting directed the relevant sectors to monitor customer complaints about digital payments on a priority basis, and the PRA will set up a monitoring system to resolve complaints from QR code users promptly. An awareness campaign will also be run to encourage digital transactions in the hotels and restaurants sector.
The move follows strong revenue growth. The PRA collected Rs114.76 billion in July and August 2026, a 31.6 percent increase over the Rs87.18 billion recorded in the same period last year. According to a Finance Department report, the growth came from bringing previously untaxed service sectors into the formal tax system, rather than from increasing the burden on existing taxpayers.
During the two months, the provincial government received Rs81.28 billion in tax revenue and Rs33.47 billion in non-tax revenue. Sales tax contributed Rs53.81 billion, motor vehicle tax Rs12.62 billion and stamp duty Rs9.11 billion. The government has set a tax collection target of Rs1,209 billion for fiscal year 2026-27.
To sustain this growth, the PRA directed all hotels and restaurants in the province last week to install the E-IMS to ensure timely tax payment. The directive was issued at a meeting with the Hotels and Restaurant Association, where participants reviewed tax compliance, the installation process, technical requirements and the challenges hotels face in implementing the system.
The PRA will also fast-track the registration of new businesses and the installation of E-IMS across 14 designated sectors. Firms that issue fake receipts or tamper with records will face strict action.
All Commissionerates have been directed to develop effective strategies for identifying new taxable services and bringing them into the tax net. Officers have been assigned specific E-IMS installation targets, and enforcement teams will be formed to increase registrations and installations.
