Tax is something many pharmacy owners worry about but rarely have time to study: 7% value-added tax (VAT), issuing tax invoices and receipts, and producing the reports needed to file correctly. Done by hand or across separate tools, the data often disagrees and reconciliation eats hours.
This article covers the basics of 7% VAT and tax invoices for pharmacies in plain terms, and shows where a POS that records sales and issues documents systematically makes tax reporting easier. Note that exact thresholds and requirements should always be checked with the Revenue Department or your accountant.
What 7% VAT is and how it relates to a pharmacy
VAT is a tax on the value of goods and services at a rate set by law — currently 7%. A VAT-registered business must charge output tax to customers, issue tax invoices, and remit the difference between output and input tax to the Revenue Department.
For a pharmacy, most goods are within VAT scope, but whether the shop must register depends on revenue thresholds and the nature of the business. Understanding the basics and holding accurate, complete sales data matters either way — whether you are already in the VAT system or about to enter it.
When a pharmacy must register for VAT
In general, a business whose annual revenue from selling goods or services exceeds the legal threshold must register for VAT. Once registered, it must charge VAT, issue tax invoices and file returns on schedule.
Because thresholds and conditions can change and carry nuances, check your status directly with the Revenue Department or your accountant. What you can control is holding accurate sales and tax data from the point of sale — which makes both assessing whether to register and filing afterwards far easier.
What a tax invoice and receipt must contain
A full tax invoice must carry the details the law requires — the words "tax invoice", the shop’s name and tax ID, buyer details where required, the line items, amounts, and the VAT shown separately. Issuing correct, sequentially numbered documents lets both shop and customer claim their tax rights and keeps an auditable trail:
- The words "tax invoice" and shop details (name, address, tax ID)
- A sequential document number and issue date
- Line items, quantities and prices
- 7% VAT shown separately from the goods price
- Buyer details where the law requires them
How a POS issues receipts and calculates VAT
Where a POS helps most is recording sales and issuing documents systematically at the point of sale. Every sale is captured with its items, amount, payment method and document number, so the data used for tax reports is correct from the source — no collating paper receipts later.
CuraLink issues sequentially numbered receipts/tax invoices, prints them on a thermal printer, and supports multiple payment methods — cash, card, QR code, bank transfer and cheque, including split payments in one bill. After a sale it deducts stock automatically, so sales, tax and stock stay consistent in one system.
- Issue sequentially numbered receipts/tax invoices
- Support QR code / PromptPay, card, cash, transfer and cheque
- Split payments across methods in one bill
- Record every sale with payment method and document number
Tax reports from the POS
Once data is captured systematically at the point of sale, producing filing reports becomes a matter of pulling it by date range — not totalling bills one by one. CuraLink’s tax reports are multi-tab and cover the data a shop typically needs.
You can filter by period and branch, then export reports to support filing, with financial-data access restricted to admin/manager roles for security. The system helps you have data ready and correct, but the actual filing and interpretation of tax rules should still be done with your accountant.
- Multi-tab tax reports (sales, VAT, payments, receipts, FDA)
- VAT tab showing breakdown by rate and figures for filing
- Payments tab broken down by method (cash, card, digital, other)
- Filter by period and branch, then export for filing
- Financial-data access limited to admin/manager roles
Frequently asked questions
Does every pharmacy have to register for VAT?
Not always. VAT registration depends on revenue thresholds and the nature of the business as set by law. Check your status with the Revenue Department or your accountant. What you can do now is hold accurate sales data from your POS to assess and prepare.
How is a tax invoice different from a receipt?
A receipt evidences payment received; a tax invoice is a document a VAT-registered business issues to show VAT, carrying the details the law requires. A POS that issues sequentially numbered documents helps produce these systematically.
Does a POS file taxes for me?
A POS does not file for you, but ensures you have complete, accurate data for the reports: it records every sale with payment method, issues sequentially numbered receipts, and offers multi-tab tax reports you can filter by period and export. Filing should be done with your accountant.
Does accepting QR payments affect tax?
The payment method does not change how VAT is calculated, but recording each method clearly makes reconciliation and reporting easier. The system supports QR code/PromptPay, card, cash, transfer and cheque, shown separately in the payments report.
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