PSID number: what it is, how to generate it and pay (Punjab, FBR)

A PSID is the number that replaced the paper challan for many government payments in Pakistan. PPSC defines it plainly: “Payment System Identifier (PSID) number is a 17-digit unique number required to perform a payment transaction.” You generate it on a government portal or app, the amount is attached to it, and you pay it from a banking app, an ATM, a mobile wallet or a bank counter. This page covers ePay Punjab, which most people mean by PSID, and the FBR and Punjab Revenue Authority versions, using only what those bodies publish.

Where a PSID comes from

How to generate one on ePay Punjab

1. Open the ePay Punjab app (published by the Punjab Information Technology Board) or the portal your department sends you to, such as the PPSC application.
2. Choose the department and the service, for example Excise & Taxation, then Token Tax, and enter the details it asks for, such as the vehicle registration number.
3. Generate the challan. The app shows the 17-digit PSID, the amount and an expiry date. Note all three, or take a screenshot.

How to pay it

• Banking app: open Bill Payment or 1Bill, choose Government Payments (Punjab), shown in many apps as GoPb, and enter the PSID. The amount is fetched automatically; check it and confirm.
• ATM: PPSC’s manual says to “Enter 17 digits of PSID number and press Ok. Due Amount against PSID number is automatically fetched.”
• Bank counter: hand over the PSID and ask the teller to pay it “under the option of GoPb”, in PPSC’s words, at any 1Link member bank.
• Wallets: PPSC lists JazzCash, Easypaisa and UPaisa among the accepted channels.

After payment ePay Punjab sends an SMS and an email confirming it. Keep both: they are your receipt. 1Link, which runs the 1Bill network behind these payments, lists the government billers as invoice and voucher payments, which is why the amount cannot be edited in the app.

How long a PSID stays valid

No official page states a number of days. ePay Punjab shows an expiry date with each PSID, and that date is the rule to follow. If it passes before you pay, generate a new PSID; do not pay an old number from a screenshot. For FBR, blogs quote different validity periods that the FBR itself has not published, so check the slip.

FBR PSID

The FBR’s ePayment 2.0 runs inside the IRIS 2.0 portal. Its announcement says that generating a unique Payment Slip ID “enables quick and convenient payments” for registered and unregistered taxpayers, paid from a bank account through internet banking, ATMs or mobile banking, after which a Computerized Payment Receipt is issued by email and SMS. The older FBR flow let you print the PSID and deposit it at a National Bank or State Bank branch. The CPR, not the PSID, is the proof that a tax was paid.

Common mistakes

• Paying one post’s PSID for another post: PPSC issues a separate PSID for each.
• Typing 16 or 18 digits for an ePay Punjab PSID; it is 17. Other systems can use other lengths, so copy the number exactly as shown.
• Searching for a PSID by CNIC: no official public search was found. Keep the SMS and email, or regenerate an unpaid PSID.
• Expecting a refund: PPSC states its fee will not be refunded in any case.