Federal Board of Revenue has admitted that taxpayers are facing intermittent problems on its IRIS portal, with the tax return filing deadline fast approaching. In a statement posted on X, FBR said its teams are actively working to fix the issue and will inform taxpayers once the problem has been resolved, acknowledging the disruption rather than downplaying it as an isolated or minor glitch. The acknowledgment comes at a moment when portal reliability matters most, since a large share of filers typically wait until the days immediately before a deadline to submit their returns, concentrating traffic on the system precisely when it can least afford downtime.
FBR said it understands the importance of the portal for taxpayers submitting their returns and specifically noted that the approaching deadline makes the current disruption particularly consequential for anyone still working through their filing. This kind of last minute technical breakdown has a long history with IRIS, with tax bar associations and chambers of commerce having repeatedly flagged similar issues around filing deadlines in previous years, ranging from system slowdowns during high traffic periods to more specific problems like incorrect computational errors, missing wealth statement data, and portal templates failing to reflect updated regulatory requirements. In several past instances, these technical breakdowns led directly to formal deadline extensions after tax bar associations argued that taxpayers were being denied a fair opportunity to comply due to system failures rather than their own delays.
FBR also apologized for the inconvenience caused by the ongoing IRIS portal problems, a step that reflects a more direct and transparent acknowledgment compared to some previous filing seasons, when the tax authority initially maintained that deadlines would not be extended even as reports of portal crashes circulated widely among taxpayers and tax professionals. The current statement stops short of announcing any extension to the filing deadline itself, focusing instead on assuring taxpayers that technical teams are actively working on a resolution and that further updates will follow once the issue is fixed. Given the pattern of previous years, where sustained portal problems near a deadline frequently led to formal extension requests from bodies like the Pakistan Tax Bar Association and Karachi Tax Bar Association, tax professionals and taxpayers alike may watch closely to see whether this round of glitches similarly escalates into calls for additional filing time.
For taxpayers currently attempting to file returns, the practical impact of the acknowledged IRIS issues will depend on how quickly FBR’s technical teams can restore full functionality relative to how much of the filing window remains before the deadline. Given the recurring nature of these portal problems around filing season, tax consultants and professional bodies have consistently argued that improvements to IRIS’s underlying infrastructure and capacity planning are needed rather than relying on reactive fixes during periods of peak traffic. Whether this instance results in a formal deadline extension, as has happened in several previous years following similar technical breakdowns, will likely depend on how long the current problems persist and how loudly tax bar associations and chambers of commerce push back in the coming days.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
