KARACHI: The country’s leading tax professional bodies have jointly called on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the income tax return filing deadline to November 15, 2025, citing persistent technical glitches in the IRIS portal and an effective reduction in the legally mandated filing period.
The Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) and Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) made separate but parallel appeals to the tax authority, highlighting the challenges faced by taxpayers attempting to meet the October 15 deadline.
In a letter, PTBA said that taxpayers are taking the automated messages regarding assets, credit/debit card spending, and bank entries seriously.
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“We believe that people are taking serious note of FBR’s messages and are now willing to file their tax returns with proper disclosure,” the letter said.
However, KTBA pointed to significant unresolved issues plaguing the IRIS portal despite multiple communications with the FBR.
The association had written detailed letters on August 28, September 16, September 19, and September 23, 2025, highlighting technical glitches and legal anomalies.
“A significant number of these issues remained unaddressed, creating substantial obstacles for taxpayers and their authorized representatives,” KTBA said in its letter.
Both associations emphasized that the late notification of the final return form has compressed the legally mandated filing window.
The section 118 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, allows taxpayers a 92-day period from the “specified date” to file returns. However, the FBR notified the final return form on August 18, 2025, effectively reducing this window by 49 days.
“This extension is imperative to provide taxpayers a fair and reasonable opportunity to fulfill their legal duties without being penalized for no fault of their own,” KTBA said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025