docs/knowledge_base.md

# ONE DIGITAL INTEGRATION (ODI) — KNOWLEDGE BASE
_Product name: "One Digital Integration (ODI)" — formerly referred to as "Digital Invoicing." Both names refer to the same product; ODI is the current/formal name to use going forward._
_Sources: "Why Digital Invoicing" PDF + "FBR Digital Invoicing FAQ" PDF (SRO 1852(I)/2025) + "Expanded Customer & Sales Guide" PDF + "Digital Invoicing Rates" PDF (30-Aug-26)._
_Last verified against source PDFs: 2026-09-02. If a user asks about anything not in this file, the bot must say it doesn't have that information — never guess._

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## 1. REGULATORY BASIS

- Original mandate: S.R.O. 1413(I)/2025, dated 01-08-2025.
- **Superseded by: SRO 1852(I)/2025, dated 24-09-2025** — this is the current governing notification.
- Under SRO 1852(I)/2025, all sales tax registered persons must complete registration and testing to integrate their hardware/software with FBR's computerized system (via a licensed integrator or PRAL) and begin issuing electronic invoices.

### Category-wise deadlines (Registration / Testing / Issuance)

| # | Category | Registration | Testing | E-Invoice Issuance |
|---|----------|--------------|---------|---------------------|
| 1 | All Public Companies | 15-Oct-2025 | 25-Oct-2025 | 01-Nov-2025 |
| 2 | Goods at standard rate to unregistered buyers | 15-Oct-2025 | 25-Oct-2025 | 01-Nov-2025 |
| 3 | All importers | 15-Oct-2025 | 25-Oct-2025 | 01-Nov-2025 |
| 4 | Companies (excl. #1) with turnover >100M but ≤1B (last 12 months, per ST returns) | 25-Oct-2025 | 31-Oct-2025 | 15-Nov-2025 |
| 5 | Companies (excl. #1) with turnover ≤100M | 15-Nov-2025 | 25-Nov-2025 | 01-Dec-2025 |
| 6 | Individuals/AOPs with turnover >100M | 10-Oct-2025 | 25-Oct-2025 | 01-Nov-2025 |
| 7 | All other registered persons | 10-Dec-2025 | 25-Dec-2025 | 31-Dec-2025 |

### Key definitions
- **Registered Person**: a person registered, or liable to be registered, under the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
- **Registration**: submitting an application electronically to PRAL or a licensed Digital Integrator for Sandbox (test) access.
- **Testing**: submitting invoices from the taxpayer's system to FBR's Digital Invoicing system via API, covering all scenarios in the Sandbox Dashboard.
- **Issuance of e-Invoices**: generating real-time invoices in the Production Environment, each bearing FBR's unique invoice number and QR code.

### Penalties for non-compliance
- Fines ranging from **Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 3,000,000**.
- Business premises may be **sealed** by an Inland Revenue officer.

---

## 2. WHAT IS ODI (ONE DIGITAL INTEGRATION)?

ODI is an automated software connector — a **cloud-based ERP system** — that links a business's billing/accounting system directly with government tax departments, integrated with FBR's (and other authorities') computerized systems for issuing electronic invoices. Described as secure, fast, reliable, and user-friendly.

**In simple terms**: normally, issuing an invoice means either manually logging into government portals or sending monthly paper/Excel reports. ODI acts as a bridge behind the scenes — the moment a sales invoice is generated, ODI instantly transmits the data to the relevant government tax server, verifies it, generates an official digital tax QR/code, and registers it automatically with no manual data entry.

No server or special hardware is required — works from laptop, desktop, tablet, or mobile browser (no app install; fully responsive), on standard office computers with normal internet — no physical servers or dedicated IT staff needed. A **locally-hosted/on-premise licensed version** is also available for those who want it installed on their own machine/server, covered under a maintenance & support agreement (full technical support + upgrades).

### Supported tax authorities
ODI supports all five primary tax collection authorities across Pakistan through **one unified system with a single User-ID and login** — no need for separate accounts per province:
- **FBR**: Federal Board of Revenue (national sales & federal taxes)
- **PRA**: Punjab Revenue Authority (Punjab provincial services tax)
- **SRB**: Sindh Revenue Board (Sindh provincial services tax)
- **KPRA**: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPK provincial services tax)
- **BRA**: Balochistan Revenue Authority (Balochistan provincial services tax)

ODI automatically routes each invoice to the correct authority based on where the sale occurred, regardless of how many provinces a business operates in.

### Multi-authority setup discount
The full one-time setup fee (PKR 10,000) applies to a business's primary tax authority. Any **additional** authority connected afterward gets a **50% discount on its setup fee**. Example: a business connecting both FBR and PRA pays PKR 10,000 (FBR, full rate) + PKR 5,000 (PRA, 50% off) = PKR 15,000 total setup cost.

---

## 3. KEY FEATURES

**System Access & Security**
- Cloud-based system
- Free hosting & static IP
- Role-based access rights
- Two-factor user authentication
- User & role management
- Single User-ID across all connected tax authorities

**Invoicing Features**
- Online invoice entry
- Import invoices via Excel sheet
- Integrable with existing ERP/accounting/POS systems — compatible with QuickBooks, Zoho, Tally, SAP, Odoo, Oracle, and custom-built POS systems via flexible API endpoints and database bridges (no need to change existing software)
- Invoice printing with QR code
- Electronic communication of invoices to buyers
- Daily & monthly closing

**System Configuration**
- Profile management
- Buyer management
- Employee management
- Product management
- Configuration management

**Data Visibility & Security**
- Dashboard
- Data transmission to ERP system
- Data encrypted via standard HTTPS/TLS protocol between the local setup and official government endpoints
- ODI does not resell, store, or analyze private commercial transaction data
- Exception data handling (per rules)
- Data retention (per rules) — **6 years**, plus user-controlled weekly/monthly/annual backups to own premises
- Data backup

**Operational Resilience**
- **Offline Mode with Queueing Management**: if local internet connectivity is lost, or FBR/PRA/other authority servers experience downtime, ODI locally saves and queues issued invoices. Once connection is restored, the queue automatically syncs and submits all invoices to government portals (generating official QR codes) without delaying customer checkout — billing is never blocked or halted by connectivity issues.
- **Invoice corrections**: tax authorities do not permit simply deleting a reported invoice. When a customer return or invoice correction is needed, ODI automatically creates an official **Credit Note or Debit Note** linked to the original invoice number, updating tax records automatically and accurately.

Business rules, tax rates, and exemptions are embedded in the system and updated regularly as rules change.

---

## 4. BENEFITS OF USING ODI

1. Avoids compliance penalties (Rs. 500,000–3,000,000 fines, risk of premises sealing) and protects against last-minute implementation stress as authorities mandate real-time digital integration.
2. Eliminates duplicate work — no more preparing/printing invoices manually and re-entering them into the e-Filing system later.
3. Automatic transfer of sales invoices to IRIS.
4. Automatic transmission/reflection into buyer's Annex-A (Domestic Purchases) for Input Credit claims.
5. Electronic delivery of invoices to buyers via email — saves time, printing, packing, and postage ("Go Green").
6. Never blocks billing, even during connectivity loss or exceeding a monthly plan limit (see Offline Mode and quota handling above/below).

---

## 5. SUBSCRIPTION PLANS & PRICING

All prices in PKR. **Government Sales Tax @ 5% applies to all listed prices and is added as a separate line item on the final invoice** — figures below are pre-tax package charges unless stated otherwise.

### Standard volume-based tiers

| Package | Monthly Limit | Annual Limit | Monthly Fee | Annual Fee (10% off) | One-Time Setup Fee | 1st Year Total (Annual plan) | Extra Invoice Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 10 | 120 | PKR 1,250 | PKR 13,500 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 23,500 | PKR 100/invoice |
| Awami | 20 | 240 | PKR 2,200 | PKR 23,760 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 33,760 | PKR 75/invoice |
| Bronze | 50 | 600 | PKR 3,200 | PKR 34,560 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 44,560 | PKR 50/invoice |
| Silver | 100 | 1,200 | PKR 4,000 | PKR 43,200 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 53,200 | PKR 25/invoice |
| Gold | 300 | 3,600 | PKR 4,500 | PKR 48,600 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 58,600 | PKR 10/invoice |
| Platinum | 500 | 6,000 | PKR 5,000 | PKR 54,000 | PKR 10,000 | PKR 64,000 | PKR 5/invoice |
| Customized | >500 | Custom | Custom Quote | Custom Quote | Custom Quote | Tailored Quote | Negotiable rate |

- "1st Year Total" = One-Time Setup Fee + Annual Fee (before the 5% sales tax line item).
- **Annual billing gets a 10% discount** vs. paying monthly (e.g. Silver: PKR 4,000/month × 12 = PKR 48,000/year if paid monthly, vs. PKR 43,200/year if paid annually — a PKR 4,800/year saving).
- A **6-Monthly (Bi-Annual) billing option also exists with a 5% discount**, per the original product overview — the rates table above only itemizes Monthly and Annual explicitly.
- Plans can be upgraded/downgraded at any time; upgrading credits the remaining balance of the previous subscription toward the new plan on a pro-rata basis.
- **Exceeding the monthly limit never blocks or stops billing.** Invoices beyond the plan's monthly quota are simply billed individually at month-end at that tier's Extra Invoice Rate shown above.
- **Customized package**: for businesses issuing more than 500 invoices/month. The enterprise account team evaluates monthly billing volume and creates a custom plan with dedicated server resources and lower per-invoice costs. Contact the team directly for a quote — no fixed customized pricing exists.

### Special low-volume packages (alternative to the tiers above, for very light usage)

| Package | Setup Fee | Included Invoices | Extra Invoices |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Starter** | PKR 10,000 (one-time only, no recurring fee) | 10 invoices total | PKR 3,000 per bundle of 10 |
| **DI-360** | PKR 10,000 setup + PKR 6,500/year | 25 invoices per year | PKR 250 each beyond 25/year |

- **Starter** is best for businesses issuing very few invoices overall — pay once, top up in bundles of 10 as needed, no monthly/annual recurring fee.
- **DI-360** is best for businesses issuing up to ~25 invoices per year — one annual fee covers that quota, with a flat per-invoice rate beyond it.
- These two packages exist as an alternative for extremely low usage; the standard Basic–Platinum tiers above are the better fit for anyone issuing 10+ invoices per month regularly.

### One-Time Setup Charges include:
1. User account(s)
2. Static IP address
3. Cloud-based hosting services
4. Integration processing services
5. Sandbox testing services (all scenarios)
6. Integration of live token with ODI system
7. Guidance & assistance creating Buyer Database (one-time)
8. Guidance & assistance creating Product Database (one-time)

### Monthly Subscription includes:
1. Cloud hosting services
2. 24x7 support services
3. Software release upgrades
4. Data backup services
5. Digital invoice generation
6. Digital invoice communication to buyers (if opted)

---

## 6. USER ROLES & PERMISSIONS

Multiple users can be created per business (number depends on subscription plan), each assigned a role:

| Role | Standard Functions |
|------|---------------------|
| Admin | Profile, Integration, Users, Roles & Payment Management |
| Executive | Dashboard and MIS Reports |
| Manager | Prepare, Submit, and Print Invoices |
| Accountant | Prepare & Print Invoices |

The Admin can reassign/customize functions for other users as needed.

---

## 7. INVOICE SCENARIOS (SN001–SN028)

Invoices must be submitted **scenario-wise** — a single invoice cannot mix multiple sale types.

| Code | Description | Sale/Purchase Type |
|------|-------------|---------------------|
| SN001 | Goods at standard rate to registered buyers | Standard Rate (default) |
| SN002 | Goods at standard rate to unregistered buyers | Standard Rate (default) |
| SN003 | Sale of Steel (Melted and Re-Rolled) | Steel Melting & Re-rolling |
| SN004 | Sale by Ship Breakers | Ship Breaking |
| SN005 | Reduced rate sale | Goods at Reduced Rate |
| SN006 | Exempt goods sale | Exempt Goods |
| SN007 | Zero rated sale | Goods at zero-rate |
| SN008 | Sale of 3rd Schedule goods | 3rd Schedule Goods |
| SN009 | Cotton Spinners purchase from Cotton Ginners (Textile) | Cotton Ginners |
| SN010 | Mobile Operators add sale (Telecom) | Telecommunication Services |
| SN011 | Toll Manufacturing sale by Steel sector | Toll Manufacturing |
| SN012 | Sale of Petroleum products | Petroleum Products |
| SN013 | Electricity Supply to Retailers | Electricity Supply to Retailers |
| SN014 | Sale of Gas to CNG stations | Gas to CNG Stations |
| SN015 | Sale of mobile phones | Mobile Phones |
| SN016 | Processing / Conversion of Goods | Processing/Conversion of Goods |
| SN017 | Sale of goods where FED is charged in ST mode | Goods (FED in ST Mode) |
| SN018 | Sale of services where FED is charged in ST mode | Services (FED in ST Mode) |
| SN019 | Sale of Services | Services |
| SN020 | Sale of Electric Vehicles | Electric Vehicle |
| SN021 | Sale of Cement / Concrete Block | Cement/Concrete Block |
| SN022 | Sale of Potassium Chlorate | Potassium Chlorate |
| SN023 | Sale of CNG | CNG Sales |
| SN024 | Goods listed in SRO 297(I)/2023 | Goods per SRO 297(I)/2023 |
| SN025 | Drugs at fixed ST rate under Sr. 81, Eighth Schedule Table 1 | Non-Adjustable Supplies |
| SN026 | Sale to end consumer by retailers | Standard Rate (default) |
| SN027 | Sale to end consumer by retailers | 3rd Schedule Goods |
| SN028 | Sale to end consumer by retailers | Goods at Reduced Rate |

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## 8. SUPPORT & GETTING STARTED

- Support Ticket: via "Support" tab on the Home Page (in-app)
- Email: **Support@Digital-Invoicing.com**
- Phone: **051-844-8730**
- Support is available 24x7.
- **Sign-up**: online via https://Digital-Invoicing.com, or by contacting the customer team directly for a guided onboarding session.
- **Activation process**: onboarding involves verifying registration details with the respective revenue authority, after which system credentials are generated and the business can begin sending integrated invoices immediately.
- **Demo**: requested via a "Demo Request" form/link; delivered via video call.

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## 9. MISC FAQ POINTS

- **No invoice volume limit** technically — only bounded by the chosen subscription plan (upgradeable, and exceeding a plan's limit never blocks billing — see Section 5).
- **Excel upload**: supported via a prescribed template, converted to FBR-compatible format automatically.
- **Existing ERP/POS integration**: supported for virtually any accounting or POS software (QuickBooks, Zoho, Tally, SAP, Odoo, Oracle, custom-built POS) via flexible API endpoints and database bridges — no need to switch existing software.
- **Data retention**: 6 years (per FBR requirement); users can additionally self-backup weekly/monthly/annually.
- **Data privacy**: transmitted data is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS); ODI does not resell, store, or analyze customers' private commercial transaction data.

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## 10. NOT STATED IN THE SOURCE DOCUMENTS
_(Source PDFs on file: "Why Digital Invoicing," the FBR FAQ, the "Expanded Customer & Sales Guide," and the "Digital Invoicing Rates" sheet. The items below are simply not covered by any of these — the bot is instructed to defer to human support for these, never to guess.)_

- Company "About Us" background, founding, team, mission
- Specific payment methods accepted (bank transfer, card, mobile wallets, etc.)
- A broader "Our Services" catalogue beyond ODI itself
- Company address / registration / legal entity name
- Exact custom pricing for the "Customized" (>500 invoices/month) tier — always defer to a quote request for this tier specifically; all other tiers now have exact published pricing in Section 5 above and MAY be quoted directly.