Income tax returns, wealth statements: PM urged to extend deadline

ISLAMABAD: Tax practitioners have asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns and wealth statements for Tax Year 2026 from September 30 to November 30, 2026, citing the slow functioning of the IRIS portal, load-shedding, financial constraints, and an excessive workload on taxpayers and tax professionals. Javed Iqbal Qazi, Advocate Supreme Court and Chairman of the Pakistan Tax Advisers Association, made this request in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister. A copy of the communication has also been forwarded to the Finance Minister, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and Member of the Inland Revenue Operations. According to the letter, the deadline for filing income tax returns and wealth statements for Tax Year 2026 is currently September 30, 2026. The tax practitioners maintained that, given the prevailing circumstances, the target for the number of returns could not be achieved by the existing deadline. They cited financial constraints and crisis in the country, slow and non-functioning of the IRIS system, load-shedding in different areas, and the heavy workload being faced by tax practitioners, advocates and chartered accountants as major reasons for seeking an extension. The letter further stated that the volume of returns required to be filed through tax practitioners was substantial and required considerable time for preparation of returns, payment of tax through Computerised Payment Receipt (CPR) in banks and subsequent submission through the IRIS system. The tax practitioners also referred to representations received from their members across the country, urging the government to facilitate taxpayers and tax professionals and address what they described as a genuine demand of the public at large. One of the key issues highlighted in the letter was that the manual return facility for low-income taxpayers had not yet been uploaded on the IRIS system. The practitioners said this was creating additional difficulties for taxpayers seeking to fulfil their filing obligations. Javed Iqbal Qazi also complained that the IRIS portal was functioning very slowly and required considerable time for uploading returns. According to them, the technical difficulties were further adding to the workload of taxpayers and practitioners ahead of the September 30 deadline. The letter further pointed to recent disturbances in various major cities, saying that the work of tax practitioners and taxpayers had been adversely affected. It also cited unrest in the country and the financial position of taxpayers as factors affecting their ability to deposit their tax liabilities into the government exchequer. The practitioners argued that an extension would facilitate taxpayers and tax professionals while also helping achieve the financial targets fixed by the FBR. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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