HYDERABAD: President Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry (HCSTSI), Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui, along with a delegation, visited the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Hyderabad, where he held a meeting with Mirza Nasir Baig, Chief Operations (Inland Revenue), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), who arrived from Islamabad. On this occasion, Mirza Nasir Baig inaugurated a dedicated E-Desk at RTO Hyderabad to facilitate taxpayers and their tax consultants.
The primary objective of this desk is to provide a designated facility for addressing technical issues related to IRIS, digital invoicing, uploading of sales tax invoices, and errors encountered during the filing of sales tax returns and annexure.
This initiative is aimed at ensuring timely guidance and providing taxpayers with direct access to the concerned authorities for the resolution of their issues.
He assured the delegation that matters relating to sales tax and IRIS would be addressed on a priority basis, with full cooperation from the FBR.
President HCSTSI Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui welcomed the establishment of the E-Desk and appreciated the efforts of Mirza Nasir Baig, FBR Member Zubair Bilal, and the concerned officials.
He expressed the hope that this facility would not merely serve as a complaint-receiving point but would become an effective mechanism for the prompt and practical resolution of taxpayers’ issues.
He further stated that Hyderabad’s trading community and industrial sector are already facing multiple challenges, including high electricity and gas tariffs, rising cost of doing business, increasing tax burden, limited business facilitation, and mounting economic pressures. Under these circumstances, the digitalisation of the tax system and the introduction of modern technology are certainly positive steps.
However, their successful implementation requires the system to be fully functional, accessible, transparent, and user-friendly.
He emphasised that technical glitches in digital invoicing and the IRIS system may prevent businesses from uploading invoices, result in errors in returns or annexure, or cause delays due to system failures. Such circumstances should not make taxpayers solely responsible for shortcomings beyond their control. Businessmen should not be subjected to penalties, notices, additional procedural requirements, or financial hardships due to technical failures in the system.
He stressed that an important commercial and industrial centre like Hyderabad requires effective facilitation by the FBR, prompt technical assistance, uniform implementation of tax laws, and a permanent mechanism for resolving taxpayers’ issues at the local level.
The Chamber believed that, alongside revenue collection, the government and the FBR must also prioritise the promotion of business activities, industrial sustainability, and the confidence of taxpayers.
He reiterated that HCSTSI would continue to maintain constructive engagement with the FBR and raise the genuine concerns of the trading community and industrialists with the relevant authorities to ensure their timely resolution. At the conclusion of the meeting, the FBR officials assured the Chamber’s delegation of their full cooperation in addressing the issues faced by the business community. The Chamber’s delegation also included Senior Vice President Muhammad Fahad Mian and Vice President Irfan Arbiani.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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