ISLAMABAD:The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry is urging the government and the Federal Board of Revenue to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by one month, to Oct. 31, citing technical failures and economic pressures facing businesses.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the apex trade body, said in a statement released Monday that the extension is "not a concession but a practical necessity" to ensure maximum tax compliance, broaden the tax base and ease pressure on the business community, small and medium enterprises and individual taxpayers.
With the Sept. 30 deadline approaching, Sheikh said taxpayers and tax practitioners are confronting severe systemic bottlenecks. The FBR's IRIS portal has experienced frequent slowdowns, glitches and outages due to heavy national traffic, preventing thousands of willing taxpayers from submitting returns and wealth statements accurately and on time, he said.
Sheikh said Pakistan's business community remains committed to fulfilling its national duty, but called it "deeply unfair" to penalize taxpayers for systemic inefficiencies and inadequate digital infrastructure.
The FPCCI outlined several reasons for the requested extension, beginning with instability in the FBR's digital infrastructure. Constant lagging and crashing of the IRIS system during peak hours has made it nearly impossible for tax lawyers, chartered accountants and business owners to process filings efficiently, the federation said.
FPCCI leaders said a one-month extension would give taxpayers breathing room to reconcile accounts, navigate recent complexities in the tax code and file returns without fear of system crashes.
Sheikh said recent complex amendments to tax laws and reporting requirements have created widespread confusion, requiring additional time for taxpayers to understand the technicalities and avoid errors in wealth reconciliations.
He also pointed to ongoing macroeconomic challenges, including high inflation and surging operational costs, which he said have stretched the administrative capacities of SMEs. Many businesses are struggling to finalize financial audits and gather necessary documentation within the current timeframe, he said.
The FPCCI argued that granting the extension directly supports the government's objective of increasing the number of active filers. Rushing the process will result in fewer submissions, while an extended window will yield higher revenue collection and broader, more accurate compliance, the federation said.
Sheikh appealed to the prime minister, the minister for finance and revenue, and the FBR chairman to take immediate note of the situation. The federation warned that failure to extend the deadline could force many legitimate businesses into the non-filer category, resulting in unwarranted penalties and disrupting commercial activity that fragile economic conditions cannot sustain.
