Income tax returns reach 5.9m mark: PM asks FBR not to give blanket extension

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that no blanket extension be granted to the citizens in filing of income tax returns as total number of returns reached 5.9 million till October 31.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recorded a significant increase in income tax return filings for Tax Year 2025, marking a new milestone in voluntary compliance and taxpayer awareness. As of October 31, 2025, a total of 5.9 million tax returns have been filed, compared to 5 million returns in the same period last year, showing an increase of 17.6 percent.

Out of these, 3.6 million taxpayers filed returns with tax payments, reflecting an 18.6 percent rise in taxpayers who contributed revenue along with their returns, compared to the same period in 2024. Moreover, individual taxpayers have paid nearly PKR 9 billion more than last year, growing from PKR 60 billion to PKR 69 billion, representing a 15 percent increase in tax payments from individuals.

The FBR appreciates the growing cooperation of citizens and reiterates its commitment to facilitating honest taxpayers through simplified processes, digital tools, and responsive communication, ensuring that Pakistan’s tax system becomes more fair, transparent, and inclusive.

This robust growth in compliance is attributed to FBR’s extensive outreach campaign and the whole-of-government efforts led by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Information. The campaign aimed to make taxpayers aware of their civic duty and the convenience of filing returns through digital platforms.

The rise in return filings is the outcome of a comprehensive outreach campaign jointly executed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Information, and the FBR. As part of these efforts, nationwide robocalls and WhatsApp messages were disseminated to remind citizens of their civic duty to file tax returns. In addition, FBR sent a series of behaviourally informed messages to taxpayers using third-party data, beginning with congratulatory notes, followed by informational messages about rights and obligations, and finally cautionary reminders, with nearly 800,000 such nudges issued across the country.

Complementing these initiatives, targeted emails were also sent to around 70,000 taxpayers, highlighting indicative income levels of comparable peers to encourage accurate and timely filing. These concerted efforts have received a positive response from citizens. The figures reported are as of 7:00 p.m. today, and FBR expects the numbers to further improve by the close of the deadline at midnight as more returns continue to be filed across the country.

As per the directions of the Prime Minister, no blanket extension in the filing deadline has been granted. However, taxpayers facing genuine hardships may approach their respective field formations through FBR’s IRIS system for an extension in filing their returns.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025