Salons

PRA Issues New Guidelines for Salons, Spas and Aesthetic Clinics

Punjab's new PRA rules for salons, spas and aesthetic clinics: a 5% sales tax, digital receipts with a QR code, and card payments you can insist on.

Ahmad Nadeem · 1 September 2026 · 9 min read

Empty modern beauty salon interior with styling chairs, large mirrors and bright lighting

The Punjab Revenue Authority has published a fresh set of guidelines for beauty salons, beauty parlours, spas, aesthetic clinics and cosmetic and plastic surgery providers across the province. The short version: your salon bill is supposed to be a proper digital receipt, it is supposed to show the Punjab sales tax as a separate line, and the salon is supposed to take your card.

If you book salon and clinic services through bugo.pk, this matters at the counter, because that is where you actually pay. Here is what changed, what a compliant bill looks like, and what to do when you get handed a scribbled slip instead.

The quick version:

Salon, spa and aesthetic clinic services in Punjab carry a 5% Punjab sales tax, charged on top of the service price.
Providers must display the guidelines at their cash counter and tell you the applicable tax before you pay.
A valid receipt is digital and shows the business name, address, Punjab Taxpayer Registration Number (PTRN), the PRA invoice number, a PRA QR code, the tax rate, the pre-tax amount and the total.
Salons and clinics must accept card and digital payments, and must not charge you anything beyond the service charge and the applicable tax.
You can scan the QR code to verify the transaction, and report a business that refuses a card or a proper bill.

What the PRA actually announced

The Punjab Revenue Authority issued guidelines aimed specifically at aesthetic clinics, spas, beauty salons, beauty parlours and providers of cosmetic and plastic surgery services, as reported on 31 August 2026 by ProPakistani. The stated aim is transparency: customers should get a real receipt and should be able to see exactly how much Punjab sales tax they paid.

This follows the same playbook the authority used for food service two weeks earlier. On 18 August 2026 the PRA issued near-identical rules for restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and food chains, covering digital receipts, PTRN details and QR verification, reported by The News. The beauty and aesthetics sector is the next one in line.

Black calculator and a ballpoint pen resting on printed financial documents — Salon services in Punjab sit at a 5% reduced rate, not the 16% standard rate.

The rate: 5% Punjab sales tax on salon services

Salon, spa and aesthetic clinic services sit at a 5% rate, not the province's 16% standard rate. That covers beauty parlours and salons, cosmetic and plastic surgery, hair transplant and consultation services, and specified skin and laser treatments.

Two details worth knowing:

It is a reduced rate, so input tax is not adjustable. The 5% figure comes from Part III (Reduced Rate Services) of the Second Schedule to the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012. The Act and its schedules are downloadable from the PRA's own downloads page, and a current rate breakdown is maintained in this Punjab services sales tax rate guide for 2026-27.
Small non air-conditioned parlours can be outside the net. Parlours, salons, slimming spas and beauty clinics where air-conditioning is not installed or not available on the premises on any day of the financial year are treated as exempt. Skin care and cosmetic services provided to acid and burn victims are exempt too.

This is not the restaurant 8% versus 16% split

There has been some confusion here, so it is worth separating. In July 2026 Punjab rolled out a payment-method split for hotels and restaurants: 16% sales tax on cash bills and 8% on card and digital payments, which the province framed as 50% relief and which ProPakistani pointed out was actually a rise from the earlier 5% digital rate.

Salons and beauty parlours were not folded into that split. As TechJuice reported, beauty parlours, salons, fashion designers, cosmetic and plastic surgery and skin and laser treatments stay on a flat 5%, whichever way you pay. So if a salon tells you the tax is higher because you are paying cash, that is not what the rate schedule says.

What your receipt has to show

A compliant bill is a digital receipt handed to you after payment, not a kitchen-style slip, a pre-bill or a handwritten chit. Check it carries:

The business name and address, and the Punjab Taxpayer Registration Number (PTRN).
The PRA invoice number and the PRA QR code.
The service or order details.
The applicable tax rate, the amount before tax, and the total payable.

Scan the QR code and you can confirm the transaction was actually reported to the authority rather than pocketed at the counter. That is the entire point of the exercise.

Card payment terminal with a printed receipt on a plain pink surface — A valid PRA receipt shows the PTRN, an invoice number, a QR code and the tax as a separate line.

What salons, spas and clinics have to do now

Display the guidelines at the cash counter where customers can read them.
Tell customers the applicable tax at the point of purchase.
Issue a digital receipt after payment. Temporary bills, pre-bills and handwritten slips do not count.
Accept card and digital payments. Refusing a card is itself reportable.
Charge nothing beyond the service charge and the applicable tax. No mystery line items.

If you run a salon or clinic and are not registered yet, registration and filing run through the PRA e-filing portal, and the authority's mandate and contact details sit on the Finance Department's PRA page.

What to do if a salon refuses a card or a proper bill

Ask for the receipt first. Most of the time you will get one. If you do not, or if the salon insists on cash only:

Report it through the PRA Sahulat app, which is built for exactly this. It lets you verify and report invoices issued by service providers in Punjab, and check a business against the Active Taxpayer List. It is on Google Play and the App Store.
Call the PRA helpline on 042-111-000-772, listed on the Punjab Revenue Authority website.
Message PRA on social media, or use the WhatsApp number 0343-0000772 that the authority published alongside its August guidelines.
Verify a taxpayer yourself through the online verification tool.

How this affects what you pay on a bugo.pk deal

It should not change your total, and that is the useful part. When you claim a deal on bugo.pk, nothing is charged up front. You pay the merchant at the counter when you redeem, so the receipt rules above apply to that payment exactly as they would to a walk-in customer.

Practically: check the discounted price on the deal page, expect 5% Punjab sales tax on top unless the salon tells you the price already includes it, ask for the digital receipt, and pay by card if you would rather not carry cash.

Three deals from the salons and aesthetic categories are live in Lahore right now, so you can see what the numbers look like:

Signature Glow Pamper Package at Fatima's Beauty Salon & Institute is PKR 5,999 instead of PKR 10,000, a 40% cut. It bundles a Korean glass skin facial, whitening glow polisher, a lifting massage across face, neck, back and shoulders, face steaming, manicure and pedicure, and eyebrow and upper-lip threading. Valid until 1 February 2027, at their Y Block outlet in DHA Phase 3.
Signature Beauty & Wellness Experience at Radiant Glow Salon is PKR 3,499 down from PKR 5,000, 30% off, covering a whitening Dr. Derma facial, basic manicure and pedicure, shoulder massage, half-leg wax and brow and upper-lip grooming. Valid until 31 January 2027, in DHA Phase 9 Town.
Smooth & Glow Duo at Ever Health Medical and Aesthetic Center pairs full body laser with a whitening hydra facial for PKR 18,999 instead of PKR 25,000, a 24% saving. This is the aesthetic clinic category the PRA guidelines name directly. Valid until 1 February 2027, in DHA Phase 3.

FAQ

Is the 5% Punjab sales tax included in the deal price on bugo.pk?

Deal pages list the price the merchant charges for the service. Whether tax is shown separately on the final bill is up to the salon's billing setup, which is why the PRA wants the tax on its own line. Ask at the counter before you pay.

Can a salon in Lahore refuse my debit card?

Under the new guidelines, no. Providers are required to accept card and digital payments, and refusing is something you can report through the PRA Sahulat app or the helpline.

What if the salon gives me a handwritten bill?

That is not a valid receipt under these guidelines. A proper one is digital and carries the PTRN, PRA invoice number and QR code. Ask for it, and report the business if you are refused.

Do these rules apply outside Lahore?

Yes. The Punjab Revenue Authority administers sales tax on services across the whole province, so a salon in Faisalabad or Multan is covered on the same terms as one in Lahore.

Are small salons exempt?

Some are. Parlours, salons, slimming spas and beauty clinics with no air-conditioning installed or available on the premises at any point in the financial year fall outside the tax. That is a narrow carve-out, and it does not apply to an air-conditioned salon.

Sources

Ahmad Nadeem

HR Manager at Heuristic Sol in Lahore, working across HR operations and people management. Holds an MBA in Human Resources Management from The Superior University.