KARACHI: The Pakistan Tax Bar Association has raised concerns over persistent technical problems in the Federal Board of Revenue’s IRIS portal, urging immediate intervention from FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial to ensure smooth filing of income tax returns for Tax Year 2025. In a formal letter dated August 22, 2025, PTBA President Anwar Kashif Mumtaz and General Secretary Mohammad Rehan Siddiqui outlined a series of system flaws that have created significant hurdles for both taxpayers and consultants during the peak filing season. While acknowledging the recent resolution of the QR Code login issue, the association stressed that the newly uploaded tax return for 2025 continues to suffer from critical issues that remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints.
According to the letter, system slowness has been one of the most pressing challenges, with the portal frequently lagging and causing long delays during peak filing hours. Practitioners reported that each section of the return takes excessive time to load, and in some cases, responses are delayed for several minutes, raising concerns of incomplete submissions close to statutory deadlines. The association also highlighted a technical flaw in the “Final Tab,” where advance or challan payments made by taxpayers are not being properly adjusted against liabilities. Instead, the system continues to reflect outstanding dues, resulting in confusion, additional follow-ups, and delays in acceptance of returns. Frequent disconnections and abrupt session timeouts have compounded the frustration, with many users forced to re-enter data multiple times, losing hours of work in the process.
PTBA further noted that procedural delays have emerged due to the system’s failure to issue orders under Section 120 on time. Instead of being visible immediately after submission, orders are now being delayed for up to 15 days, affecting subsequent processes such as refunds and adjustments. Other critical flaws flagged include the failure of email verification codes for newly registered NTN holders, which has prevented new taxpayers from activating their accounts and filing returns. Technical errors during final submission, including the repeated appearance of the “Please provide correct Receipt Value” message, have blocked many users from transmitting their completed returns despite accurate data entry. For Associations of Persons, an error in the adjustment of tax withheld under Section 235 was cited, where correct liabilities were showing as outstanding due to incorrect coding, effectively creating demands where no net liability existed.
Another area of concern highlighted by the association was the inability of users to submit appeals due to failures in PIN verification. The unresponsiveness of the portal at this stage has created risks of missed deadlines for appeals, undermining taxpayer rights and procedural fairness. The letter stressed that with August marking the peak filing period, such inefficiencies in the IRIS system have jeopardized compliance timelines and potentially weakened revenue collection. PTBA called on FBR to urgently address these issues and extend deadlines to cover the delays caused by the system’s shortcomings, allowing taxpayers to file returns with proper disclosures rather than under last-minute pressure. The association underscored that timely resolution of these problems is critical for restoring confidence in the system and enabling both taxpayers and consultants to meet their statutory obligations effectively.
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