KATI seeks another extension for income tax returns deadline

KARACHI: Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) President Sheikh Umer Rehan has urged the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by another month, citing persistent technical glitches and slow processing on the FBR’s online IRIS portal.

Rehan said that although the government had previously granted taxpayers a 15-day extension to facilitate return filing, a large number of traders and industrialists were still unable to submit their returns due to technical issues and persistent delays in the online system.

He said taxpayers were facing serious difficulties and frustration because of system freezes, problems uploading data, difficulties generating payment challans and other technical hurdles on the IRIS portal.

Under these circumstances, it would be unfair to hold taxpayers entirely responsible for failing to meet the prescribed deadline.

The KATI president emphasised that the business and industrial community was willing to cooperate fully with the government in promoting economic growth, increasing tax revenues and broadening the tax base. However, he said achieving these objectives required an efficient, reliable and user-friendly tax filing system.

He stressed that facilitating taxpayers and maintaining their confidence in the tax system should be among the government’s key priorities.

Rehan also urged the FBR to address the technical shortcomings of the IRIS portal on a priority basis and improve its system capacity and technical support to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

He said taxpayers should be able to fulfil their legal obligations smoothly and within the stipulated timeframe.

In view of the prevailing situation, the KATI president called for an extension of at least one month in the income tax return filing deadline. He also demanded a waiver of late-filing fees and penalties for taxpayers whose returns had been delayed because of technical faults in the IRIS system.

He said granting additional time would provide much-needed relief to the business community and enable taxpayers to file accurate and complete returns, ultimately supporting better compliance.

Rehan appealed to the prime minister and the finance minister to take immediate notice of the issue and issue the necessary directives to the FBR to resolve the difficulties faced by industrialists and traders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026