FBR proposes ATL surcharge waiver for late filers who avoid property purchases for six months

According to Profit by Pakistan Today, the FBR has floated a draft proposal that would let individuals who file income tax returns late join the Active Taxpayers' List without paying the usual surcharge. The condition is that they refrain from buying property for six months. The plan sits in draft amendments to the Income Tax Rules 2002, issued under SRO 1690, and stakeholders have been given seven days to send feedback.

Under the draft Rule 81B, eligible filers would submit an undertaking through the FBR's Inland Revenue Information System (IRIS), with the six-month restriction running from the day IRIS electronically acknowledges Form ATL-U. The tax authority could check compliance using Income Tax Ordinance data and information from registries, agencies, financial institutions and other lawful sources.

If a possible breach is found, the FBR would offer an electronic hearing, and a confirmed violation would cancel the surcharge-free benefit effective from the day of the violation, with status then decided under existing late-filer rules. The draft Form ATL-U would collect a filer's name, CNIC or NTN, tax year, return filing date, the IRIS reference or acknowledgement number, and the date the undertaking is submitted.