FBR Extends Income Tax Return Deadline to October 31Pakistan

The original filing deadline was September 30, which the FBR had earlier extended to October 15. Trade organisations and tax professionals then pressed for more time, pointing to delays in the issuance of return forms and heavy traffic on the FBR’s online IRIS portal as major hurdles in timely filing.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Atif Ikram Sheikh had formally urged the government to extend the deadline to October 31 to facilitate trade, industry and other taxpayers. The Karachi Tax Bar Association had also submitted a five-page letter to the Member Inland Revenue (operations), highlighting delays in draft notifications and persistent technical glitches in the IRIS portal.

Meanwhile, the FBR received a record number of returns during the first extension. Data showed that total returns filed by October 14 reached 6.710 million, compared with 4.993 million over the corresponding period last year, an increase of 34.38 per cent. Until September 30, returns received stood at 5.767 million, up 45 per cent from the previous year.

Non-salaried filers, a category covering traders, shopkeepers, professionals and the self-employed, led the surge: their returns rose 46.35 per cent to 4.446 million from 3.038 million. Salaried returns grew 16.16 per cent to 2.178 million, while returns from associations of persons rose 14.64 per cent to 74,278. Company returns, however, declined 22.41 per cent to 11,089, which FBR officials attributed to many firms holding back in expectation of a further extension.

Tax paid with the returns up to October 14 stood at Rs66.81 billion, about 14.61 per cent above last year’s Rs58.29 billion, underscoring the revenue impact of the broadened filing base.

With the new October 31 deadline, the FBR has effectively given filers a full month beyond the original cut-off. Tax professionals welcomed the move, saying the extra time would help businesses and individuals struggling with the new return forms, while the revenue authority will be hoping the extension pushes the final tally of filings to a new record.