FBR receives 2.2m income tax returns

According to Business Recorder, the Federal Board of Revenue has received 2.2 million income tax returns, compared with 1.724 million filed in the same period last year. The information was shared with a delegation of the Karachi Tax Bar Association during a meeting in Karachi, chaired by FBR Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial. Talks also focused on ways to ease filing for taxpayers and promote voluntary compliance.

The association argued that the authority's demand for fuller details on forms has lengthened the time needed for accurate filings, and it requested extra time so taxpayers can meet the wider reporting requirements. It also welcomed the digital drive but said it has to go hand in hand with ongoing awareness campaigns aimed at taxpayers. Separately, it said field units had started imposing penalties on some service-sector taxpayers, and asked that these cases be reviewed individually and leniently so that compliance is promoted instead of undermined.