Restaurant, cafe sector: PRA expanding digital monitoring to curb tax evasion

LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has announced a major push to curb tax evasion in the restaurant and cafe sector, strengthening its Vigilance Wing and expanding digital monitoring to stop the misuse of digital payments and the issuance of fake receipts. Chairman PRA Moazzam Iqbal Sipra warned that local and international food chains and coffee shops refusing to accept digital payments will face strict action.

Presiding over a review meeting on the performance of the authority’s enforcement teams, Sipra said that digital payments must be made only to the bank accounts officially declared by the companies concerned, a measure intended to prevent the manipulation of records.

The meeting directed the Commissioner PRA Lahore Division to further intensify field operations. It also ordered the immediate examination of complaints received through social media, and it was revealed that notices have already been issued to more than 70 restaurants over alleged violations.

The chairman also directed that QR codes be made mandatory on all receipts issued through the Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (E-IMS), allowing customers and officials to verify them immediately.

Stressing the importance of compliance, Sipra described the transparent deposit of taxes collected from the public as both a legal and a moral obligation. He cautioned that heavy penalties would be imposed on those who collect taxes from customers through fraudulent practices but fail to deposit the amounts with the authority.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026