The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by a month, saying technical problems with the board’s online system are stopping thousands of people from filing on time.
Returns for the tax year are due on 30 September, which is Wednesday. The FPCCI wants the date moved to 31 October, Dawn reported.
The problems with IRIS
The main complaint is about IRIS, the FBR’s Inland Revenue Information System through which returns are filed online. According to the FPCCI, the portal has been suffering “frequent slowdowns and glitches due to heavy national traffic” as the deadline approaches.
The federation said system crashes were preventing thousands of taxpayers who wanted to file from doing so accurately and on time.
Why businesses want more time
The FPCCI set out four reasons for the request:
| Reason | What the FPCCI says |
|---|---|
| IRIS portal problems | Frequent slowdowns and glitches under heavy traffic |
| System crashes | Thousands of willing taxpayers unable to file on time |
| Changes to tax law | Recent amendments have caused “widespread confusion” |
| Pressure on filers | Small businesses and individual taxpayers under “immense pressure” |
‘Not a concession’
FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh argued that an extension would help the FBR rather than cost it.
“This extension is not a concession but a practical necessity to ensure maximum tax compliance,” he said.
The federation framed its request as a way to broaden the tax base: if people who want to file are given the time to do so properly, more of them will end up in the tax net. It said the extension would support trade, industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual filers.
The FBR had not publicly responded to the request by the time of reporting.
A busy week for the tax authority
The request comes at a busy time for the FBR. On Monday, it ended sales tax and digital invoicing on factory-to-warehouse transfers within the same business, in an order aimed at curbing harassment of taxpayers by field officers. Last week, it also set up a National Faceless Centre to handle tax audits without face-to-face contact between officials and taxpayers.
The board is also under scrutiny from the International Monetary Fund, whose mission has been in Islamabad for talks on the next reviews of Pakistan’s loan programme and has met FBR officials. Revenue collection is among the areas those reviews examine.
What filers should do
Unless the FBR announces an extension, the deadline remains 30 September. Taxpayers who have not yet filed should do so as early as possible to avoid the last-minute rush on the IRIS portal, and keep a record of any error messages or failed attempts in case they are needed later.
Why it matters
Filing a return keeps people on the FBR’s Active Taxpayers List, which brings lower tax rates on many transactions, such as bank withdrawals and property deals, compared with non-filers. A deadline that people cannot meet because of a failing online system risks pushing willing taxpayers out of the net, at a time when the government is trying to widen it. The FBR’s decision in the next day will show whether it agrees.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn and earlier coverage by The Indus Compass.
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