Stakeholders want tax returns date extended

Dawn reported that the Federal Board of Revenue has recorded an overwhelming response, with 5.181 million tax returns filed by Sept 29. Even so, trade bodies and professionals want the deadline extended, citing delays in issuing return forms and heavy online traffic. The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and several professionals have made the demand.

The statutory filing date falls on Sept 30 every year, but it has often been pushed back two or three times, usually to the end of October. Penalties for late filing were modest in recent years, yet the latest budget raised them sharply. Under the Finance Act 2026-27, the penalty for restoring a company to the active taxpayers list rose to Rs100,000 from Rs20,000, with associations of persons paying Rs50,000 and individuals Rs25,000.

The Karachi Tax Bar Association has asked the Member Inland Revenue (operations) for relief, pointing out that the final IRIS return form came out only on Sept 2 and the portal has suffered repeated downtime. Return filings overall rose 45.8 per cent, from 3.553 million in TY25 to 5.181 million in TY26. Non-salaried individuals grew 56.9 per cent, while company returns fell 32.5 per cent to 6,428.