IRD Approved Billing Software in Nepal: Who Needs It and How It Works

IRD approved billing software is billing software that Nepal's Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has listed for electronic billing, and that your tax office has given you permission to use. Some businesses, including hotels and restaurants above a turnover line, must bill through it. Everyone else who is VAT-registered still has to issue a proper bill for every sale.

This guide explains who needs it, what the software must do, and how permission works, in plain words. This is general information, not tax advice. Rules and amounts change, so always check the current IRD notice and ask your tax office or accountant.

01Who must use IRD approved billing software

Based on IRD notices as summarised by tax advisers in October 2026 (check the current IRD notice for the latest amounts):

The budget for 2083/84 announced a plan to lower the general line to Rs 10 crore. As of early October 2026, advisers reported that no IRD notice had put it into effect yet. Watch for a new notice.

02If you are below the line

Being below the line does not mean "no rules". A VAT-registered restaurant must still issue a bill for every sale. You can do that in one of two ways:

• A numbered bill book printed as the tax rules require, or
• Billing software that is on the IRD list, used with your tax office's permission.

Bills typed in Excel or Word and printed do not count as e-billing.

03What IRD approved billing software must do

The IRD's Electronic Invoice Procedure 2074 sets out what the software must do. In simple terms:

• No editing or deleting bills: a mistake is fixed with a new entry, and a report shows every correction.
• Audit trail: the date, time and user of every entry are saved and can be printed.
• "Copy of Original" on reprints: any reprint is marked as a copy and shows how many times it was printed.
• Cancellation with a reason: cancelled bills stay in the records with the reason.
• Credit notes for returns, not deleted bills.
• CBMS sync: bill data can be sent to the IRD's Central Billing Monitoring System.
• Export and backup: to Excel, XML or PDF, with backups kept for as long as your accounts must be kept.
• Server in Nepal for cloud software: the server must be in Nepal and reachable by the IRD, with a data agreement between you, the vendor and the server operator.
• A user manual in Nepali or English.

04How to get permission, step by step

1. Choose software that is on the IRD's list, and the exact version. The vendor gives you an acceptance letter and informs the IRD.
2. Set it up and test it: normal bills, credit notes, cancellations, reprints and, where needed, a CBMS test sync.
3. Apply to your tax office. On the IRD website, the Taxpayer Portal has an "Electronic Billing User Permission" menu. Branches must use the same system.
4. Attach the documents your tax office asks for, such as PAN and registration certificates, sample bills, print samples, reports and an audit trail report.
5. Review: tax and IT officers check the application and the office head issues the permit.
6. Bill everything electronically from then on. If the system fails, ask the tax office before using another method.

Software companies have their own, separate process to get a product onto the IRD list. As a restaurant, you only need to pick a listed product and get your user permission.

05Fines

From fiscal year 2083/84, the Finance Act 2083 sets fines of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for e-billing breaches under the VAT Act and the Income Tax Act. The higher end is aimed at software that lets bills be deleted or changed. Not issuing a bill at all is a separate offence. Check the current Finance Act and IRD notices for the exact rules.

06What this means for a restaurant

• Know your turnover. If you are near Rs 5 crore a year, plan the move before you cross it.
• Ask your vendor for proof: the IRD listing of the exact product and version, not only a badge on a website.
• Train staff on corrections: no deleting; cancel with a reason or issue a credit note.
• Keep KOTs and bills separate: a KOT is an internal kitchen slip, the bill is the tax document.

RestroGrow is not IRD approved yet; restaurants use it for POS, KOT, BOT and online ordering, not as IRD e-billing software.