Pakistan Tax Advisers Association (PTAA) has approached Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for extension in final date of filing income tax returns/wealth statements for Tax Year 2019 up to Dec 15.

According to a communication of Pakistan Tax Advisers Association chairman Javed Iqbal Qazi with the FBR, the returns of total Income/Wealth Statements for Tax Year 2019 are due to be filed by Oct 31. Till date approximately one million returns have been filed by taxpayers and there is a shortfall of 1.5 million.

Qazi said all the tax practitioners, chartered accountants and advocates are busy in the preparation of returns. However, it seems not possible that the filing figure of tax returns, as per last year will be achieved but the target of 1.5 million being rest of returns cannot be achieved in such a short time.

As the return forms were provided late by the FBR, resulting into delay in submission of returns, it is, therefore, requested that the date of filing returns be extended to Dec 15 instead of Oct 31.

This facilitating measure of the FBR will enable all taxpayers to file their returns in a friendly and cordial atmosphere, the PTAA chairman added.

FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi In a recent tweet said the average returns filed per day stood at 18,735.24 for tax year 2019 against average returns filed per day was 8,242.38 for tax year 2018, reflecting an extraordinary increase of 127 percent.

Referring to the tweet, the PTAA chairman acknowledged that keeping in view the pace of filing returns per day, the extension in date up to Dec 15 for filing of return would considerably increase the number of returns for achieving the target of doubling the returns in Tax Year 2019.