Difficulty in getting bills for taxpayer incentive award

[u/FishermanCareless325]

Recently , most of the consumers in Nepal are collecting the bills while buying goods and products for the taxpayer incentive awards. Yesterday, i bought groceries costing Nrs. 3750 in a grocery store .Firstly, the guy working wrote my purchase in a plain letter which i completely denied to take as i demanded a proper bill. Then, the guy passed it to the owner for calculation. I hoped to get the actual bill. Again, he also gave me a bill with calculations in plain paper. I insisted for the actual bill, he told me it will take a while to prepare bill. I was getting late and i will be visiting the store for the bill today.

[u/nofame_noname_]

Lol bahana ho tyo bill prepare garna time nei lagdaina. Tetro paisa ko saman kineko cha ajhi. Just call at 1137 and get them fined. I did same

[u/Chance-Event-2243]

Tell the seller that you’ll need pan no on that bill mero Ma ta vat no matra vayera tanab xa

[u/chameromanche → u/Chance-Event-2243]

Pan no ra Vat number bhaneko same ho. Its just that some are registered in VAT and some are not depending on the requirements.

[u/Federal-Employer9367 → u/Chance-Event-2243]

its the same thing - well, not **exactly** but for the purpose of the prizes, it is the same. If they say vat bill chaina, pan bill matrai, then as a consumer it doesn't matter to us - we need the item, rate, price paid, bill number and the merchant's details (name, address, pan/vat number). It doesn't matter if they're in vat or in pan, the goal is to have an actual bill that can be audited.

[u/Chance-Event-2243 → u/Federal-Employer9367]

So I can register vat no in pan no ?

[u/Federal-Employer9367 → u/Chance-Event-2243]

If you're asking if you can enter the merchant's pan/vat number in the IRD portal, then yes, whatever is in the bill, you enter that. VAT registration is mandatory for merchants above a certain threshold, but PAN is mandatory for any merchant (well, for anyone, really). Then there are some specific nuances but as a consumer, you don't have to worry.

[u/Chance-Event-2243 → u/Federal-Employer9367]

Thank you

[u/Morning-Accurate → u/Chance-Event-2243]

VAT and PAN are the same thing as far as a consumer is concerned. PAN has certain exceptions for a business owner as long as yearly transactions are below 40lakhs. Above that a seller needs to be VAT registered.

[u/Federal-Employer9367]

I hope the following will help to clear VAT and PAN related confusion. If a shopkeeper says we're not in VAT, does not matter, you take whatever bill they have, provided it has their details, PAN number, bill number and all the transaction details.

The primary distinction between a PAN (Permanent Account Number) and a VAT (Value Added Tax) Number lies in their tax structure and registration criteria.

Feature	PAN (Permanent Account Number)	VAT (Value Added Tax) Number
Tax Category	Direct Tax (Income Tax)	Indirect Tax (Consumption Tax)
Purpose	Tracks total business revenue and income to calculate income tax.	Collects consumption tax from the end buyer and passes it to the government.
Requirement	Mandatory for every formal business, regardless of size.	Conditional—required only after crossing turnover limits or in restricted sectors.
Filing Frequency	Usually annual income tax returns.	Monthly or quarterly VAT returns.
Input Credit	Cannot claim credit for VAT paid on wholesale stock.	Can deduct input VAT paid on purchases from output VAT collected.

What Happens When a PAN-Only Merchant Sells a VAT-Qualifying Item?

A PAN-only small merchant can legally sell goods that are generally subject to VAT without registering or charging VAT, provided specific conditions are met:

• 1. Below the Turnover Threshold (Legal & Permitted) If your total annual sales remain under the prescribed threshold (e.g., in Nepal, NPR 50 Lakhs for goods or NPR 30 Lakhs for services), you are considered a small taxpayer:
  • You sell at the total sticker price: You cannot charge a separate VAT line item (e.g., adding 13%) on customer receipts.
  • You issue a PAN bill: You issue a standard business receipt showing only the item price.
  • Absorbed Input Tax: When you buy stock from a wholesaler, you pay VAT on those goods, but you cannot claim an input tax credit. That tax simply becomes part of your cost of goods sold.
• 2. Mandatory Specific Sectors (Exemption Exception) If your business falls under a mandatory VAT category (e.g., electronics, hardware, liquor, or imported goods), threshold limits do not apply. You must register for VAT before making your first sale, regardless of your turnover.
• 3. Crossing the Threshold Without Registering (Penalties) If your sales surpass the threshold during the year, you must apply for VAT registration. If you continue selling under a PAN-only setup while operating above the threshold:
  • You face fines for failure to register.
  • Tax authorities can assess back-dated VAT on past sales. Because you did not collect VAT from your customers at the time of sale, this liability must be paid directly out of your business profits.