The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) IRIS portal faced a significant disruption on Monday, leaving taxpayers and tax practitioners across Pakistan unable to file their income tax returns for Tax Year 2025. The outage, which persisted throughout the day, has sparked widespread concern and prompted professional bodies to call on the government to grant an extension to the return filing deadline. For many, the malfunction underscored ongoing concerns about the reliability of the country’s digital tax infrastructure at a critical compliance juncture.
The Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) issued a formal letter to the Finance Minister, stressing that the IRIS portal had remained non-functional and effectively paralyzed return filing nationwide. According to the association, tax practitioners and individual taxpayers were left unable to meet their obligations, creating a risk of mass non-compliance. The LTBA also raised objections to recent changes in the system, specifically the removal of the “payment details” tab from the Management Information System (MIS) section of the IRIS portal. The association argued that this move was both unfair and unjustified, as it introduced unnecessary barriers for taxpayers. It urged FBR to restore the functionality and extend the filing deadline immediately to avoid penalizing taxpayers for issues beyond their control.
Similar complaints were reported from professionals in other cities, where consultants described the system as sluggish and unresponsive, with only a fraction of returns successfully submitted. One tax consultant noted that the removal of the payment tab appeared to be temporary, surfacing briefly on the FBR Maloomat Portal before being removed again, which further added to taxpayer confusion. Many practitioners said that, with the deadline looming, the technical shortcomings were undermining confidence in the system and placing an undue burden on those trying to comply with tax obligations.
The Professional Accountants Forum (PAFO) also stepped in, writing to the Finance Minister to formally request a general extension for tax filings. PAFO President Muhammad Iqbal emphasized the legal requirements under Section 118 of the Income Tax Ordinance, which stipulate that individuals and associations of persons with fiscal years running from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, and companies with year-ends between July 1 and December 31, 2024, must file their Tax Year 2025 returns by September 30, 2025. Given the scale of the disruption, PAFO argued that an extension until at least October 31, 2025, would be both reasonable and necessary. The forum, which represents a broad range of professionals including chartered accountants, cost and management accountants, MBAs, and other experts, called for immediate action and urged that a circular be issued without delay to reassure taxpayers.
The appeals highlight growing frustration with recurring issues in FBR’s digital platforms, which many believe should be reliable enough to handle peak filing periods. As professional bodies continue to press for relief, taxpayers await official communication from the government on whether the filing deadline will be extended. The episode has renewed debate about the resilience of Pakistan’s digital governance systems and the importance of ensuring they function effectively during critical compliance windows.
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