LAHORE: The Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to extend the deadline of filing of income tax returns for the tax year 2025.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, LTBA President Muhammad Asif Rana has said that deadline for filing of income tax returns for the tax year 2025 was previously extended to October 15, 2025 but due to various critical technical issues being experienced on the IRIS portal, taxpayers are facing difficulties in filing the tax returns.
The FBR, he pointed out, has remained unable to resolve these issues which have caused significant delays, erroneous computations and widespread frustration among the taxpayers and tax practioners.
The LTBA further pointed out in the letter that as per Section 92 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, the share of income from an Association of Persons (AOP) in the hands of its members is exempt, provided that the member has no other source of income and the AOP has paid tax on its income.
“But under the Ordinance, there is no concept of tax credit for a person whose only source of income is the share from an AOP. However, the system is incorrectly calculating tax on such share income according to the rates prescribed under division I of Part I of the First Schedule and is erroneously allowing tax credit in these cases, which is not in accordance with the law,” the letter said.
Further, it said, the tax credit element is only applicable where the provisions of Section 88 of the Ordinance, 2001, are attracted. Similarly, according to the Ordinance, 2001, the concept of minimum tax is that all taxes collected or deducted are to be adjusted against the taxpayer’s liability; however, any excess amount shall not be refunded.
The concept of apportionment of income or tax applies only to the final tax regime. However, currently, the system is apportioning tax even in cases governed by the minimum tax regime, which is contrary to the spirit and intent of the law and requires urgent rectification.
The LTBA president observed these systemic issues have significantly impeded taxpayers’ ability to comply within the prescribed time limits and may also adversely affect revenue collection.
Considering such technical issues on the IRIS portal the government should direct the FBR to extend to further extend the deadline for filing of income tax returns till December 31, 2025, he concluded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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