Islamabad: Tax advisers, lawyers, chartered accountants, and other professionals have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns for the tax year 2025 to November 30, citing disruptions caused by recent internet outages and persistent technical issues with the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) online filing system.
According to a letter sent by Pakistan Tax Advisers Association Chairman and Advocate Supreme Court Javed Iqbal Qazi, the FBR had earlier extended the filing deadline from September 30 to October 15 after the Iris system — used for submitting returns — became unresponsive due to heavy online traffic.
However, Qazi noted that internet services in major parts of Punjab and the federal capital remained completely unavailable or severely disrupted over the past several days, preventing many taxpayers and consultants from accessing the FBR’s portal.
He stated that, in addition to connectivity problems, frequent load-shedding, financial constraints, and the sluggish performance of the Iris system had created significant challenges for tax practitioners, advocates, and chartered accountants in meeting the current deadline.
“The volume of returns to be filed is too large to complete within the remaining days,” Qazi wrote, adding that an early announcement of an extension would help prevent a last-minute rush and another breakdown of the FBR system.
The letter emphasized that extending the date to November 30 would not only assist taxpayers and professionals in meeting their obligations but also help the FBR achieve its revenue targets smoothly.
Tax experts have repeatedly urged the revenue authority to announce filing extensions in advance rather than at the eleventh hour, noting that last-minute decisions cause unnecessary panic and system overload.
The FBR had previously extended the deadline late on September 30, moving it to October 15 after widespread complaints of inaccessibility and slow response times on the Iris portal. It is yet to issue a statement on whether another extension will be granted.
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