KTBA urges FBR to urgently fix IRIS portal problems

KARACHI: The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to urgently fix problems with the Tax Year 2026 income tax return form on the IRIS portal, affecting taxpayers’ ability to file complete and accurate returns within the prescribed time.

In a letter sent to FBR Member Inland Revenue-Operations Zubair Bilal, KTBA president said the issues, raised earlier in letters of May 19 and August 10, remain unresolved. The association said taxpayers have been given too little time. The draft return was circulated through SRO 835(I)/2026 on May 7, but the final form was notified through SRO 1495(I)/2026 only on September 2.

The KTBA also cited recurring downtime and slow response on IRIS, including on weekly holidays, and objected to what it called voluminous data requirements.

These include full details of vehicle fleets, which can run into hundreds for larger companies, along with all immovable properties, bank accounts, shareholders and partners of associations of persons. Much of this data must be reconciled with third-party records and earlier declarations, it said.

Taxpayers under the minimum tax regime in Section 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance cannot make a correct declaration because the system computes additional normal tax wrongly, an issue KTBA raised separately on September 16.

The IRIS also caps adjustment of prior years’ refunds against current tax liability at Rs 200,000, although the Ordinance sets no such limit.

The refund application facility has not been activated for Tax Year 2026, and the portal no longer issues a downloadable acknowledgement after filing, which the KTBA called essential proof of timely submission.

The association further said Section 114(2A) requires companies to file in an electronically readable format, defined in section 2(19DA). The KTBA asked that manual entry of the same data be made optional once the file is uploaded.

It further said taxpayers whose shift to a special tax year has been approved by Commissioners cannot access the transitional return, and that the portal rejects negative figures for retained earnings, forcing inappropriate workarounds.

Making detailed shareholder particulars a condition for filing was impracticable for listed companies with large and changing shareholder bases, KTBA said, urging system integration or bulk upload.

The association asked the FBR to ensure stable operation of IRIS throughout the filing period, rationalize data requirements, fix the identified flaws on a priority basis and report the corrective steps taken.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026