ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move just three days before the extended October 31 filing deadline, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has once again amended the income tax return form for Tax Year 2025 — a decision that has left taxpayers and consultants across the country scrambling.
The latest update requires taxpayers to provide Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) details for all financial inflows and outflows, a change that tax experts say has disrupted the already strained filing process.
“All inflows and outflows now require CNIC numbers to complete the return filing,” said Muhammad Zeeshan Merchant, former president of the Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA). He noted that the abrupt update has brought return filing to a standstill, particularly for individuals declaring multiple financial transactions.
“This change came out of nowhere,” Merchant said. “Tax practitioners are unable to proceed with their clients’ filings since this requirement was not part of the form before last night.”
He criticized the FBR for what he called “habitual last-minute changes” that hinder compliance instead of promoting it. “Such tactics discourage honest taxpayers who are trying to fulfill their national responsibility,” he added, calling the move poorly timed as the filing deadline approaches.
The FBR had already extended the original September 30 deadline twice — first to October 15 and then to October 31 — amid mounting technical issues and widespread taxpayer complaints.
Merchant urged the FBR to finalize the return form once and for all before reopening the filing system, warning that continued policy and technical changes would only increase confusion and could lead to yet another extension.
As the countdown to the deadline continues, tax professionals nationwide await the FBR’s clarification — but the sudden rule change has plunged the 2025 return filing season into deeper uncertainty and frustration.
