ISLAMABAD: Taking a policy measure against taxpayers, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reduced the time limit from three years to two years for granting condonation of time limit in sales tax matters of registered taxpayers.

This means that the Commissioner Inland Revenue may condone the time-limit upto two years for sales tax registered taxpayers instead of three years period.

The FBR has issued a notification on Friday. According to the notification, in the case of approval of the application, the Commissioner-IR may condone the time-limit upto two years.

The FBR had empowered Commissioner-IR having jurisdiction to condone time-limit where any time or period has been specified under any of the provision of Sales Tax Act or rules made thereunder within which any application is to be made or any act or thing is to be done, so that he may, in any case or class or cases, permit such application to be made or such act or thing to be done within such time or period as he may consider appropriate.

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“In exercise of the powers conferred by proviso to section 74 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, the FBR is pleased to make following amendments in Notification No. SRO 1444(1)/2024 dated 12th September, 2024, namely:-

In the aforesaid notification, in condition (e), for the words “three years”, the words “two years” shall be substituted, the notification added.

Under the notification, the registered person concerned or any person authorized by him shall submit an application to the Commissioner-IR having jurisdiction stating therein the grounds of delay for condonation of the time-limit. If no further information or documents are required in respect of the case, the Commissioner-IR shall take into consideration the grounds of delay and decide the case within thirty days from the date of receipt of the application.

If the Commissioner-IR is of the opinion that further information and documents are required in respect of the case, he may ask for submission of such information and documents and, after receipt of the requisite information and documents, take the case into consideration and decide the case within forty-five days of the receipt of the application; Commissioner-IR shall decide the case on merit and record the reasons for approval or rejection of the application, the notification added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026