The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched an electronic production monitoring regime for aerated waters and beverages, requiring registered manufacturers to install real-time tracking systems linked directly to the tax authority central platform.
Under Sales Tax General Order 07 of 2026, all registered beverage manufacturers, including toll manufacturers, must install monitoring equipment comprising barcode scanners, counting sensors, IP cameras, programmable logic controllers and human-machine interfaces. The systems must run on software connected directly to the FBR central data platform, enabling continuous tracking of production activity.
The FBR states that the initiative is intended to improve transparency, reduce under-reporting and strengthen revenue collection by monitoring production volumes in real time. As part of the rollout, chief commissioners inland revenue have been directed to appoint focal persons responsible for coordinating with manufacturers and FBR-approved technology vendors during installation and implementation.
Officials say the real-time data generated by the system will allow the FBR to cross-check declared production volumes against actual output and identify irregularities more efficiently than under previous reporting methods.
The FBR has described the beverage monitoring order as part of a broader digitisation strategy aimed at documenting key sectors of the economy and reducing revenue leakages. Tax officials maintain that extending real-time oversight to production lines will close gaps that have historically allowed under-reporting to go undetected.
The success of the initiative, however, will depend on how widely it is applied across the industry. Extending the monitoring system beyond large registered manufacturers to include smaller and toll producers would require installing tracking equipment in currently unregistered facilities, linking production data to sales records, and enforcing consistent penalties for non-compliance.
